Bringing The Graduation To You
by The Brod Road
Summary: What happens when the graduating Grimwood Girls venture into the human world to visit their favorite teacher, Shaggy? Mystery Inc happens! Shaggy/Harem. Implied Fred/Daphne. Chapter 10: Ghouls meet Girls.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Just thought I'd try this idea after stumbling upon things on the internet about "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School". It's just too bad that there are so few Ghoul School fics on here. Was it not that popular? I remember when the old Cartoon Network would play that one on occasion (along with "Reluctant Werewolf")… Classic childhood memories, am I right?

Anyways, I'm thinking of having this be a Shaggy/Sibella. Although, I bet Winnie and Tanis would also like a piece of "everyone's favorite stoner". Maybe Phantasma too? Not really sure about Elsa, but then again… Hmm…. Monogamous pairing or harem-anime style? Harem might be considered cliché by now. "Ooh, typical male fantasy. Big whoop, perv!" Right? Ah, I'll just see where my mind takes me! Also, keep in mind that I haven't seen Scooby-Doo in ages, so some of the newer stuff is unfamiliar to me. I hope that can be forgiven.

Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything, so why would I have an intellectual property?

Bringing The Graduation To You

The moon was high overhead as the quiet of the night presided in a small town that would be considered a perfect descriptor for "Anytown, USA". Just your standard-fare place, nothing really special about it. Although, there's always something good to say about a place where you can live peacefully without much worry over crime or famine. Quite picturesque…which was something quite unsettling for at least a couple of passengers within what looked like a broken-down school bus, rumbling down the main road.

"Hoooowwwww can these people live like this? So many confining structures…" howled a guttural-yet-feminine voice of one of the bus' occupants as it followed the relatively slow (for them) speed limit through town.

"Winnie, we can't all be about nature, outdoors, and the hunt." replied a soft, alluring voice, the owner of which sitting behind the first occupant. "Humans, for example, do not have the enhanced senses and capabilities that you do, especially during full moons…"

"Whatever, vamp… When did you become teacher anyway?" the animalistic Winnie grumbled.

"Hehehe! Since Ms. G entrusted our fates to her, of course!" giggled a hyperactive, almost-ethereal voice, belonging to a particularly bouncy spirit.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this…" a new voice piped up timidly. "An actual field trip… in the human realm! To see Shaggy again…" a short figure finished in a wistful tone, the sounds of rustling cloth audible anytime she moved.

"Well, this was what we wanted to do as our graduation gift, after all. Still can't believe we got permission" the fifth and final occupant said as she drove the bus. Slight sparks of electricity could be seen shooting out of the sides of her neck.

"Well, thank Sibella for that, Elsa. If it's one thing vampires can be, it's insistent. Can't say I blame her, though. We get to see Coach again! Aaaoooooowww!" Winnie cheered with a howl (which she was technically about to let loose anyway, due to the full moon). The others had to cover their ears as Winnie's full-moon howls tended to be somewhat louder than usual…

"Yeah! One would almost think the poor girl has a thing for our dear Coach." Phantasma added with crazed giggle, floating around the aforementioned Sibella. The purple-skinned vampire huffed and passively swatted her away, knowing that her hands would just go through the ghost anyway.

"Phanty, come now… That's... personal."

"Pfft, personal? More like 'obvious'. Whenever he sends a letter about whatever adventures he and his friends were up to, you always make sure YOU'RE the first to read it." Winnie said, crossing her arms and wearing a smug smirk. On her, the 'smirk' seemed more like a predatory baring of teeth. Although, once again, the full moon might have something to do with that this time…

"I'm always the last to read dear Shaggy's letters…." mumbled Tanis. Oh, the woes of being the youngest and smallest of a group… Granted, she had grown, as did the rest of the girls, but she was still the shortest, no matter how many times she outgrew her bandages. Presently, her bandages did seem a little tight on her, revealing a lot of her petite figure and even a little skin (which was a darkish-gray, undead as she was). She had replaced the bow on her head with a bandage 'hairstyle', done up into a braided cloth ponytail with a jeweled ankh-shaped brooch hanging at the end of it.

The others couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for their timid Egyptian friend. They always thought it was so adorable how Tanis got along with Shaggy and his talking dogs when he was their Coach. Usually, her shyness made it quite a task for her to get out of her shell and actually get to know people, as each of the girls had found out when they first started school together. But, Shaggy seemed to help with her nervousness quite a bit during his time there.

Probably because he seemed to be a nervous person himself… Takes one to know one, the girls all figured.

"Aww, hey. Cheer up, Tanny." said Phantasma in an eerily-positive tone. "We're going to be with him soon! Very soon. It's the next town, right Elsa?"

The giant homemade teenager grinned. "Yup! Can't believe ol' Grimwood had us track him down 'the human way', though. But it's worth it!"

"It was a test to see how we would adapt to human ways, Elsa. Good thing the Calloway Cadets agreed to let us use their strange technology." Sibella added, before immediately frowning. "Although I have half a mind to believe that they helped us only because they noticed how we're 'filling out'…" she grumbled, her hands indicating her developing body. Being a vampire, she had quite a fetching figure on her. Shapely waist, decent-sized chest, and so on. Winnie had apparently turned out to be quite an attractive draw for the Cadets also, even though she was quite hairy… The werewolf did keep her fur relatively clean and tangle-free, though. Then again, immature boys like the Cadets were always drawn to big breasts, no matter what the species, it seemed…

"This 'inter-net' thing… Damn, was that confusing… How much do those Calloways need to see naked females anyway? Pisses me off…" Winnie said, beginning to snarl as she thought about what she had stumbled across on a Calloway computer in an internet tab marked 'Favorites'. Subtlety was not the boys' strong suit, that's for sure. (Perhaps there was something to the fact that they were trained to be like loud-and-flashy 'soldiers', not quiet-and-unseen 'spies'. Winnie liked the human concept of 'spies'. 'Snipers' too. They reminded her of hunting prey.)

"They're just naturally 'turned on' at their age. Part of the human libido. Humans are said to be 'sexual beings', after all." quipped Elsa. Being scientifically created from human bodies herself, it certainly didn't hurt to be proficient in most things science and anatomy.

"Whatever. Humans are…strange. But their technology can be quite fascinating too. Amazing how one can find information of all sorts of worldly things. All we had to do was type down 'Mystery Inc.' and there it was. Articles of the human creeps that Shaggy, Scooby, and their friends had defeated. It certainly made our task harder. It's like they travelled all over the country!" Sibella prattled, her voice growing fond upon bringing up Mystery Inc. The vampire was certainly glad for Shaggy's heroic deeds. Not only did they help out other humans against the criminal element, but they had done the realm of monsters a huge service by preventing the majority of these frauds from horribly misrepresenting them. There was a reason why monsters kept themselves separate from humans, but the last thing they certainly needed were assholes mocking them.

Elsa could always remember her father's grumbling rants whenever he heard of another human that perpetuated the myths that he was nothing but a bumbling oaf that could speak slowly, one word at a time, or a silent golem with a horrible case of rigor mortis when it came to walking…

"Hey, least we found them. Thank that human idea of investigative journalism for that Mystery Inc article." Winnie chortled. If it wasn't for that much-maligned TMZ site giving away the hometown of all 5 members of Mystery Inc, the girls would've thought them literal nomads with no place to call home.

At that moment, their clattering bus rumbled past the outskirts of "Anytown USA" as if it was passing through "Parts Unknown", Elsa having glimpsed a road sign proclaiming the next couple of towns and the number of miles left to go to each. The teenage golem only paid attention to the first town listed on the sign. Indeed, it was their destination, only 17 miles away.

Although a part of her hoped that the name was some sort of joke or perhaps the town's official nickname or something. It certainly didn't sound like many of these other human civilizations, such as New Orleans, Chicago, or Syracuse.

Who had the gall to actually name a human town "Coolsville"?

The next morning, in Coolsville…

"_Dearest Shaggy, _

_I do hope this letter reaches you. It's simply fang-tastic to actually write you a letter for a change. You never bothered to leave any return address for us to write you… I figure it has to do with all those adventures you tell us about. A man and his friends, constantly on the road and seeing what the land has to offer. How intriguing. It would certainly fascinate Winnie, of course. But pleasantries can be exchanged later. In fact, much sooner than you would think, dear Coach. As you might know, we are graduating this year and Mrs. Grimwood has granted us anything we would want as a graduation gift, seeing as we're all practically family at that small establishment. _

_I knew what we had to do, it might seem batty, but… I feel like this is best for all five of us. We are coming to visit you, Shaggy! Isn't that just… fang-tastic?! I do hope your friends and family won't mind. Oh my, now that I see this written down, I really do say 'fang-tastic' a lot, don't I? Is that weird of me? But moving on, I am unsure of when we will arrive, but I am certain it shall be within the next couple of days. Please do keep a look out. Our vehicle shouldn't be too hard to notice, based on what we've come to understand about the human world._

_Ghoulishly yours,_

_Sibella Dracula_

Thus had been the letter that Shaggy was currently rereading for the 5th time since he had found it mysteriously pinned to the front door the previous afternoon. What were he and Scooby going to do? Sure, during the past few years, Mystery Inc had managed to stumble across more than just costumed nutjobs scaring people away from buried treasure and land claims… But most of those supernatural encounters were not exactly pleasant. That whole fiasco with the Witch's Ghost for instance. Almost ruined a few lives, including those of their musical friends, the Hex Girls. Then there was that time they ended up on Zombie Island down in Louisiana… After that particular one, Shaggy thought it'd be prudent NOT to visit Grimwood despite being in the area, something he felt guilty for as they hadn't been around Louisiana at all since then.

But he did write. No way would he fall for the old social stereotype where the longer one is away from somebody, the less one keeps contact and the more one forgets. Nope. He wouldn't stand for that. Even though, sometimes, there wasn't much to tell. Either too few cases or just more costumed goons. Shaggy would never understand why people would keep trying to play up local legends to scare people, especially after news articles about the numerous other jailed crooks started showing up… Then again, Shaggy himself was not exactly about common sense. His diet, for example… (On the other hand, his extremely high metabolism…)

But this was a shock. Not only had they wanted to keep in touch, they actually wanted to visit him. In the human world. For their graduation. Talk about being thrown head-first into the real world after school! How did they even find where he lived? And what was the Gang going to think of this? He grew concerned as he took another bite of his 20-layer sandwich, filled with random meats and cheeses. Whenever they weren't on the road, Mystery Inc had their own apartment building to themselves, their usually close-knit friendship a strong influence on their choice of home. Three of those apartments belonged exclusively to the Gang. Shaggy and Scooby in one, Velma in another, and Fred and Daphne sharing one after making their relationship official. The other three were strictly for visiting friends and family whenever they were in town. There was even a sort of office area on the ground floor for Mystery Inc to house a sort of headquarters for whenever business turns up, formerly a landlord's office.

"Rat'cha roin', Raggy?" asked the great dane that was the group's beloved pet and friend, walking toward the small kitchen table where Shaggy was eating.

"Ah, like, reading this letter again, Scoob. I can't believe they're actually coming here. Here! Oooh, I hope they aren't, like, getting into a lotta trouble on the way here." Shaggy answered. Truth be told, as concerned as he was, he was also quite touched that they wanted to see him for graduation. A part of him figured that Ms. Grimwood would've found a replacement teacher that was better suited for the type of student clientele, maybe more likeable. Apparently, that wasn't the case. No matter what, Mystery Inc was about to have a supernatural surprise come up to their door.

"Uhh… Rhat are re gonna rell the rothers?" Scooby asked before deftly taking advantage of Shaggy gazing at his letter and stealing the rest of the stuffed breakfast sandwich. The resident beatnik shrugged.

"Like, I dunno. I should tell them before the girls find us. Like, we probably should just flat-out tell them the facts. I mean, we all know monsters exist. I don't think they'd think it's too much of a stretch that, like, there'd be NICE monsters… Hey!" Shaggy said, finally noticing the missing breakfast, being chewed on by his dog.

"Rehehehe…. Rorry, Raggy…" Scooby said, unabashedly as usual. When it came to food, the duo were used to the idea that they'd sometimes nick each other's food portions. Still annoying, but normal. Shaggy stood up to gather himself another sandwich. Good thing their successful careers as investigators usually meant a fully-stocked fridge and pantry.

The sound of screeching brakes, a vehicle backfiring, and then a loud horn that (comically) bleated out the tune of "La Cucaracha" suddenly rang out, causing Shaggy to pale considerably.

'_Our vehicle shouldn't be too hard to notice…'_

'Please don't be them… Not yet… Please? At least not until I, like, tell the others! If Fred were to discover them first… Zoinks!' he thought, slowly walking to the window. He peered out. The street outside the front of the apartment building was easily visible across a small yard. Right in front of the walkway toward the building was the most broken-down, beat-up, trashed school bus anybody could ever lay eyes on, both the engine and the exhaust visibly smoking.

The door clunked open, almost having to be forced open. The being that stepped out first was undeniable proof as her purple skin and hair was very easy to notice in the morning light.

"Scoob…? Like, they're here…"

**Author's Note:** And there's chapter 1, just before Halloween! Nice timing, huh? Anyways, a couple of things.

1) I'm not really sure if Shaggy and the gang actually have a hometown or even a place to call home, as most shows always show them on the road like nomads. So I just figure that they have a home to occasionally take breaks from the mystery business from. I figured that the fictional town from the 'A Pup Named Scooby-Doo' show would make for a good hometown for them. If it worked for the gang when they were kids, it could work for them as adults, right?

2) Please feel free to correct me about any Scooby references I may have gotten wrong or suggest good references to use, as I haven't seen any of the more-recent Scooby-Doo shows. I've only heard references from some of the few fanfics I've read on here. This was mainly a spur-of-the-moment idea I had after rediscovering "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School" and seeing the very-few fanfics that actually involve the Grimwood Girls.

As always, please review! I appreciate feedback, really. Thanks in advance.


	2. Those Aren't Costumes, Folks

Author's Note: Wow, people are actually liking this. Glad to see that people agree that there should be more Ghoul School stuff. I'm going to have a Review Reply segment here, but it'll be at AFTER the chapter, in case people want to get right to reading. So, if you're one of the ones that reviewed, please keep reading after the chapter ends. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Seriously.

Chapter 2: Those Aren't Costumes, Folks

Sibella Dracula was the first to exit the bus to get a good glimpse of the apartment complex that Elsa believed was Shaggy's home. It took the group most of sunrise to navigate through Coolsville once they had entered city limits. None of the five women had much experience in human cities before, (not really counting the ones they just drove through in their journey here) so it was purely adaptation on the fly. It made sense to Elsa and Sibella, the more level-headed ones of the group, that certain places would be grouped together into its own district. Businesses were an obvious example of this, they had noticed.

As luck would have it, the address that they were given turned out to be one of the last areas of town left to search. Did it always have to be in the last place to look? No matter, for they had finally arrived. Sibella looked upon the place. It couldn't be more opposite from their school if it had tried. Well-built, pleasant-looking, sturdy, if a little generic… Not unexpected, considering. But she seemed to think it was a nice place for someone like Shaggy.

As she looked around, she registered voices coming from the direction of the apartment itself, nearly lost in the usual bout of light traffic passing around the beaten bus. A pair of humans had reached ground level of the apartment complex and had started to head toward the front gate, right where the vampire stood. Neither of them were her dear friend, but they could be two of his friends he had mentioned in letters… She would find out shortly.

"…maybe just lost, Daph." were the first words Sibella could understand when the two got in proper earshot.

"Lost? More like their vehicle's been through a war! They probably want to phone a tow truck." replied the red-haired human female, seemingly indignant to her fellow human's thoughts.

"Let's just see what happened. Alright?" By the time the blond semi-muscular man had said that, he was a mere foot away from the gate and Sibella. It was then they both noticed the unmistakable complexion of the 'lost' girl.

"Umm… Hello, sir and madam. I'm sure this is the right place, but… does a Shaggy Rogers live here?" Sibella said, her voice as sultry as ever. The man seemed to get a little flustered, at first. Sibella began to wonder if all human guys tended to be dolts around the female gender. The woman, on the other hand, took it upon herself to reply.

"Who wants to know? And… why are you purple? Cosplaying?"

Sibella tilted her head, slightly. 'Cause….playing'? What did that mean? "Hmm… We're friends of his. If it's not too much trouble, we would like to see him. We've traveled quite a way and I'm sure this is the place."

A new voice interjected itself into the situation, one Sibella wishes would've stayed on the bus, considering the unsure and curious looks on the humans' faces. "Yo! 'Bella! We in or what?" Winnie griped, casually stepping off the bus without a care. On the bright side, Winnie looked less feral than she did last night, now that it was daytime. But still, a werewolf is a werewolf, no mistaking that appearance…

The two humans in front of Sibella got a little jumpy for a second, surprised by the unexpected look of the girl that came off the bus. Then, the man seemed to calm down and turn a little serious. He opened the gate.

"Fred? What're you doing?" the red-haired woman asked, curious. Sibella was wondering the same question.

"I'm sure this is another Red Herring prank, Daph. He's been getting better at trying to nail us. Costumed people, asking for Shaggy? C'mon now. What's next? Frankenstein?" Fred reasoned aloud, oblivious to the rolling of many eyes.

"Actually…" Sibella started, but was cut off by a confident Fred.

"Let's see what we got under this mask, just like old times." He said, grabbing Winnie by the hair and pulling… only for nothing to lift off. Sadly, the pulling had a very-obvious effect on the poor girl.

"YeeeeeOOWWWWWWWWWLLLL!" Winnie howled, instinctively swinging a clawed hand in his direction. Fred quickly leaned back, but the claws raked across his shirt, leaving huge rips in it. The red-haired wolf got into a fighting stance, growling.

"What's the deal, blondie? Pulling my hair like that? You off your human medications or something? You think I'm some old coot pulling a scam or something? Dammit, I'm a werewolf!" Winnie yelled before pouncing on Fred, knocking him to the ground. Winnie grabbed the shredded front of his shirt and yanked, claws ripping the rest of the shirt into something that looked like a tore-up 'small vest', a demonstration of her hands before she placed them in front of his face. "Just gimme one reason, muscle-brain! Dare ya!" the growling of a wolf could be heard somehow as she said that.

"Winnie!" Sibella snapped, worried that her group had already made a bad impression. Would they call the police or, in Winnie's case, the service known as the "Animal Control"? "Will you please get off!? What would Shaggy say if he saw you give a human a dreadful mauling, especially if this mistaken oaf happens to be a friend of his? Off!"

Winnie was reluctant. After all, nobody pulls her hair. But the purple girl did have a point. Still, what's one little cut between wolf and human? Before Winnie could contemplate that, white bandages began wrapping around her wrists and ankles tightly, pulling the werewolf off of the shaken Fred. "Hey, lemme go, ya stinkin' ragdoll! I wasn't gonna hurt him… much! Awwww!" Winnie groaned, uselessly struggling against the surprisingly strong bonds.

"Winnie, please… You're already scaring them…" said a shy voice from just inside the bus. Fred and Daphne looked to where the bandages were coming from, only to see a somewhat-short (and, Daphne had to admit, very adorable) mummy girl step off the bus, the bandages used to tie up Winnie coming out from around her arms, revealing dark-gray skin. The cloth, seemingly controlled by Tanis' mind, reeled back onto her arms slowly, pulling Winnie further away from Fred. The werewolf grumbled.

Tanis looked toward Fred, timid with guilt. "Um… Mister? Are you ok…?"

Fred had finally started getting to his feet, already on his knees as the mummy spoke to him. Seeing the little one's display of bandage power, he knew now that the werewolf wasn't a superglued-on helmet attached to a hyperactive teenager in a costume… Nope, this was one of those rare occasions for Mystery Inc.: Actually encountering the supernatural! "Mister?" the quivering mummy again spoke, apparently uncomfortable with the situation. Fred thought it quite odd and yet, unsurprising that a mummy would be socially awkward.

"Uh, I'm alright, I guess. No harm really done. Uhh… So…" he paused. Human Meets Monster: the First Dialogue. Fred began to wonder whether it was a curse or a blessing that Daphne didn't have her camcorder on hand at the moment. "You came to see Shaggy? Dare I ask how you know him?" he asked, not directing it to anyone in particular. He was answered with a shrill giggling. Out from the roof of the bus phased a white/blue ghost girl. Lean, wide-eyed, and with quite a bit of hair, Phantasma hovered above the small group, glancing at the blond man. "Why, he's our favorite Coach! Taught us everything we know about staying in shape. Not that I need it, of course. I can fly. But I still thought he was fun anyway!"

"Aw, like, dang it. I was hoping to get down here first." Speak of the devil. Shaggy and Scooby Doo were rushing over to where they were, Velma trailing behind. "I told you we should've, like, taken the stairs, Scoob. But you love that elevator…"

"Less work rat ray!" replied the dog in question, snickering. Shaggy stopped and facepalmed. "Less work…? Like, considering our career choice of constantly running for our lives, a couple of flights of stairs bother you?" Sometimes, Shaggy could not figure that dog out…

"Sigh… Alright… Fred, Daphne, Velma…? I guess I should, like, explain…" he began, nervously sweating already. Fred was obviously the most displeased with this abrupt surprise visit. Daphne seemed unsure.

"Um… Hello, Coach…" Sibella said, strangely finding herself trying to calm her nerves. The first time she sees her favorite human in such a long time and there's already a problem… In hindsight, she could always blame Winnie for overreacting. But she couldn't. Considering the existence of the Grimwood Girls' respective species was always kept secret from humans, things like this were bound to happen. Hell, if it was Halloween, they could blend right in just from people thinking they have excellent costumes! Besides, in Winnie's defense, hair-pulling hurts.

Shaggy looked at Sibella and couldn't help focusing on her, managing to barely keep his composure in front of his friends without completely zoning out. No doubt, he had noticed her developed figure, but to be so floored by it...? He figured it must be part of the vampire species' inherent "unearthly beauty" that's constantly bantered about. Then again, ol' Drac didn't seem like he'd be a ladies' man when Shaggy encountered him that one time… Sibella must've gotten her looks from her mother's side. "Uh… Hi, Sibella… Like, graduation, huh?" he said, weakly chuckling afterward, almost like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Indeed. I do apologize if we… came at a bad time?" Sibella said in a questioning tone, her head tilted slightly and her hands upon her hips. By now, Winnie was released from Tanis' bandaged grip and back on her feet. "Anytime's a bad time to yank on my hair!" she huffed, even though Sibella wasn't talking to her. Phantasma hovered near the werewolf and playfully stroked Winnie's hair with a cheerful "Calm down".

"Like, ah, no! No, this wasn't a bad time. Well, not too bad, anyway… I… Like, I got your letter yesterday and hadn't had a chance to, like, explain to the others yet. I was going to today, but… well, ya know…" Shaggy said, waving a hand at the broken-down bus, which seemed to be smoking a little more than it was.

"Wait… You knew they were coming? Actual monsters?" Fred asked. He certainly didn't appreciate feeling like the butt of a prank.

"Like, put yourself in my shoes. We all know how you guys get whenever monsters show up anywhere. Trap first, pull off masks second, ask questions later. Well… Actually, it's more like 'run away from first, investigate second, chase third, trap fourth, pull off masks fifth, and then ask questions later'. Wow… Like, when I phrase it that way, a lot of our adventures kinda seem similar. At least our first few years… Heh. Like, remember those days?"

"Now's not the time, Shaggy…" Daphne answered curtly, crossing her arms. Out with 'Danger-Prone Daphne', in with the look some call 'Bitchy Resting Face'. Looks like Shaggy's on thin ice.

"Heh… Good point… Like, yeah… Can we at least take this inside? Oh, like, by the way… Where's Elsa?" Shaggy asked after a look-around at the gathered party. As if on cue, the daughter of Frankenstein finally shuffled off the bus, seemingly in a hurry. "Uhh… Heya, Coach. About our bus, I think we should all back away… I can't get the thing to stop short-circuiting."

"Like, you mean…?"

"It might blow…"

"Zoinks! Everybody back!" As if to prove Elsa's guess right, the bus' engine was now heavily-smoking, sparks of electricity starting to shoot out from beneath the hood. The group made their way into the yard. The bus started shaking, almost like a rumbling can of exploding firecrackers. Then, with a heaving lurch…. the exhaust pipe let out an incredibly loud backfire and the bus seemingly appeared to deflate like a balloon, just a little bit. To top it off, the horn let out one final (warped, slowed-down, and distorted) bray of "La Cucaracha" as the bus finally came to rest.

"Close… Glad that didn't blow up." Elsa said clinically. Driving the bus was one thing she could do with ease. Fixing it, however… Not that she isn't good with machines, but she really had to wonder how that particular vehicle could even function in the first place.

"Elsa, huh? So… I'm guessing your father's Frankenstein?" Velma asked as a way to break the ice. Elsa nodded. "I always get that. Not too surprising, though. He created me to even look like I've inherited his and mom's genetics" Velma looked her over. As far as she could tell, Elsa wasn't kidding. The frizzy stuck-up hair definitely was reminiscent of the fabled Bride Of Frankenstein, whereas her somewhat-stiff walking and rough face were more her father's trademarks. As would her height, being that she was the tallest girl of the group of Shaggy's mysterious 'students'.

"Well… Looks like we're stuck here a while!" Winnie said, grinning. The more time she could spend with Coach, the better, in her opinion. "You guys got spare rooms? We ain't sleepin' in the streets." Fred could not believe the nerve of this girl… Was she always on? He had a feeling that this would somehow lead to trouble. Then again, that could be bias from the fact that Winnie almost kicked his ass…

"Like, yeah, we actually own this entire building. We got a couple of vacant apartments, in case of company. You're all more than welcome to them! Uhh… Like, that is if nobody minds…" Shaggy said, nervously remembering that this was completely unexpected company for the others. It almost reminded him of why he, Scooby, and Scrappy left to travel solo for a while back then…

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. Friends of Shaggy's are friends of ours, right?" Velma replied with a smile. She didn't see much harm with the monstrous group if the team's resident cowards were actually calm and friendly around them. Also, ironic, considering what most of their encounters with 'monsters' turned out to be. Was there some moral lesson here as to who the real monsters were?

"Right, Velma. I'll get you some keys. Would sharing apartments be ok? 2 to a room?" Daphne asked. Personally, she had some reservations about the group, especially the temperamental werewolf. But still, it stood to reason that Shaggy and Scooby would've made some friends during that year or two apart from them. It's not like the two had much of a chance to develop some sort of social life when the gang was constantly on the road, solving mysteries. Like Velma, she also felt a sense of irony at the particular choice of friends…

"That'll be acceptable, Ms… Daphne, I assume?" Sibella replied in a sort of de-facto leader tone, although Phantasma's semi-constant giggling was a contrast to the vampire's demeanor. "Quite a unique name, I must say. Dear Shaggy has mentioned you in his letters to us. And a 'Velma' and a 'Fred' too. Is it safe to say that Mr. Hair-Puller here is Fred?" she added, throwing in a clever smirk for good measure. Daphne felt a little embarrassed. Every time they settle down in Coolsville, he always would go back to trying to pin something on the gang's childhood bully, Red Herring.

"Sorry about that! It's… Well… Let's just call it a bad habit of his from our mystery-solving career, shall we?" the redhead stammered, feeling quite inadequate in front of the purple girl for some reason. The feeling couldn't be just backlash from Fred's behavior… Nonetheless, Sibella nodded, smirk turning to a friendly smile. "Let's shall. Boys, am I right?" she said in a mock-disapproving tone.

"Hey, we're right here…!" Fred said, hurt that Daphne would pick on him. Same ol' Fred. The other monster girls giggled at this, especially Winnie. 'Bad luck to pull hair, blondie-boy' she thought.

Velma led the group into the Mystery Inc Office in the ground floor to officially get some introductions, now that the inital confusion was out of the way…

As much as Velma Dinkley wanted to keep the gang's official Mystery Inc Office neat and tidy, it always turned into some haphazard mess that, somehow, she knew where everything was anyway. Mostly, it was due to the gang's propensity to bring back mementos from their numerous adventures. Villains' masks, supernatural relics (both "real" and "fake, but cool-looking conversation starters anyway"), little trinkets from people they rescued from monsters both real and fake, etc.

It wasn't a huge office by any standards, being as it was originally a landlord's office, so the ten people didn't really have a lot of room to move around, but it was still enough room. It certainly helped that Phantasma's intangibility could leave some room for those next to her, even though she giggled whenever an arm or a shoulder passed through her… When Mystery Inc led the group of monsters inside and stood around the main desk that was the 'island' in the middle of the room, Fred and Daphne couldn't help but notice how Sibella, Winnie, and the little mummy seemed to rush and cram by each other in order to stand next to Shaggy. Their strange competitiveness ended up knocking a few small stacks of paperwork over.

"Ah! Oh, my mistake… Umm…" stammered Tanis timidly as she immediately bent over and started gathering papers. "Sorry… I'm sorry. I'm a little clumsy sometimes…" Shaggy went over and helped her pick up the rest of the old paperwork. "Don't worry about it, Tanis. Like, mistakes happen. I've spilled worse than this." he chuckled as he placed a stack of papers back on the desk, obviously jumbled up and no longer in any organized order. He then gave the mummy a gentle pat on the head, causing the shy mummy to smile before they both went to stand next to Sibella and Winnie. The werewolf grumbled for some reason, but Sibella was smiling. Shaggy hadn't lost his caring demeanor, just like she had believed.

Velma decided to be the first to break the ice again once everyone got settled. "Alright, then. So, anybody want to introduce themselves first?" The girls looked at each other, as if silently conferring with each other about who should go first. Finally, with a wide grin, the ghost girl hovered a little higher. "Hi, everyone! I'm Phantasma Phantom, daughter of THE Phantom and NO, not the Opera one! You'd be surprised how many people have asked me that!" she said, cackling shrilly as she hovered back down.

Winnie then cleared her throat. "Alright, you guys. Name's Winnie. Not Winifred, just Winnie. My dad gave me that fancy-shmancy name… Said it would make me seem noble… Damn that Wolfman and his stupid werewolf pride… But anyways, sorry about earlier. Just… well, don't pull my hair, ok?" She wasn't much for public speaking, figuring it always best to speak her mind and be direct. As if a subconscious action, she ran a clawed hand through her hair as she finished her introduction, making sure it's the usual messy mane.

Elsa then took her turn. "Hi… I'm Elsa Frankenteen. Like my parents, I was quite literally built. Umm… Not sure what else to say, but it's nice to meet Coach's friends. You all seem cool." Elsa was a bit nervous around a pack of humans, based on what her parents used to have to deal with in the past. At least there were no torches and pitchforks here.

The room then went silent. Sibella then felt something cling to her from behind. It wasn't very surprising an action, as it was little Tanis. The mummy was attempting to hide using Sibella's ever-so-long flowing hair. "Um… Hi… I'm Tanis… I hope you don't mind us staying… Coach Shaggy was a real great teacher for us and….and we really like him…" If it was possible to see a blush through bandages, Tanis would practically be glowing red from her nervousness.

"Aw, it's ok, Tanis. We don't mind." replied Velma, smiling. The vertically-challenged Egyptian certainly was adorable, she had to give her that. "That sounds like our Shaggy and Scooby, alright. Always well-meaning. Although this is certainly news to us, Shag. Why didn't you even tell us you were a teacher?" the bespectacled genius inquired. Shaggy shrugged.

"Like, I dunno. So many things happened during our time apart. Not to mention, well…" he trailed off. The others could figure it out. "They wanted their existence kept secret at the time. That's understandable." Fred said, nodding. Mystery Inc looked expectantly to the final girl.

"Ah, my turn, yes? My name is Sibella Dracula and…" Sibella was interrupted by an exclamation of…

"Jinkies! Dracula? As in THE Dracula?" asked Velma. The purple vampire was more annoyed at being interrupted than she was surprised. But she understood the reaction. Her father certainly had a sterling reputation for horrendous acts of infamy. At least, that was until recently when he started taking up hobbies, like staging unnatural drag races… It was fortunate the human race hasn't heard one peep about his apparent 'midlife crisis'.

"Yes, I am his only daughter. Being in the human realm for the first time, it's strange to discover how far my father's legend has reached. It could drive one simply… batty!" she exclaimed before suddenly turning into a small purple bat as if to emphasize her point. The other monsters groaned at the cheapness of her pun as she flew around the room and finally, as if feeling mischievous, decided to settle on Shaggy's head.

"Zoinks! Like, why my head, Sibella?" Shaggy groaned, making sure not to move around too much. Bat-Sibella seemed to curl up and make herself comfortable on his head, despite not being upside-down, squeaking a little. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Scooby, and Phantasma laughed at the scene. Tanis giggled, Elsa smirked, but Winnie grumbled. "Why does she get to do that…?"

"Oh? Are you jealous, Winnie?" asked Tanis, smiling innocently. Truth be told, seeing Sibella take such a bold action made her wonder what would happen if she managed to coil a few bandages around Shaggy… She blushed from thinking about it.

"Me? Jealous? Who says I'm jealous? So she gets a ride on Coach's head…" she huffed, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Romebody's realous!" teased Scooby, figuring he could get away with busting the chops of a (sort of) fellow canine. Winnie growled, but let her shoulders slump in resignation. No sense starting anything in such close quarters.

"Alright, now that we know who's who, how about you tell us what you were up to back then, 'bat-head'?" Fred asked Shaggy, smirking at the name he jabbed him with. He felt it was only fair for this really surprising visit being put upon him unexpectedly. (Not to mention, there were those times Shaggy ripped on him about his fashion choices. Who says an ascot is bad taste anyway?)

Sibella chittered indignantly, her tiny eyes glaring in Fred's direction. Shaggy ignored the jab. "Like, well, when we were on our own, we realized that we needed some money. Ya know, for food, keeping the van fueled, that sorta thing. We saw an ad in a local paper when we were down in Louisiana and thought, like, we could totally do a gym teacher position. I mean, with all our constant running and jumping around, we'd have to be considered in great health. So why not? However, when we got there, it was totally obvious why nobody else wanted the job! Not that the girls were mean or anything, of course. But ya know how that goes… Ol' Mrs. Grimwood was so keen on having us on that I felt like we should stick through it and see how a school semester goes. Like, it went well enough, so to speak." he explained. He wasn't sure whether to explain the whole fiasco involving the evil witch, Revolta, or not… "Like, we even helped the girls win an annual volleyball match against their rival school, a military school for human boys. After a semester, like, we decided we had to move on."

"Rime to ree rew rings." Scooby added.

"Yeah. See new things, meet new people, eat new food… Guess old habits, like, die hard, even the old travelling habit." Shaggy concluded, grinning.

"Ah. That's it, eh?" Winnie said, a smug fanged smirk on her face. "I was sure you literally ran off because the students that were supposed to come after us for you two to teach were even freakier than we were." The werewolf couldn't resist chuckling, especially when Shaggy and Scooby both began stammering for excuses, a clear giveaway. Velma, Fred, and Daphne all rolled their eyes at that one. Classic Shaggy moment, it sounded like.

Sibella chose that time to fly off of Shaggy's head, land next to him, and resume human form. "Oh, don't worry about that, dear Coach. We could understand your plight. The new students weren't exactly….fang-tastic… The aliens, for example. Grimwood had those extraterrestrials expelled after they tried to probe poor Tanis… The old headmistress thankfully mistook their scientific intentions as sexual harassment. 'Research' or not, I really don't think anybody needs to be violated that way!"

"And don't get Elsa started about the swamp monster kid. It's not her fault water and electricity don't mix. Ol' swampy shouldn't have kept trying to permanently shut down her room." Winnie added, remembering the lagoon monster looking quite electrically-charred as she was escorted out of the school.

"Exactly. I need a good charge every now and then." the composite golem girl remarked, frowning at the memory of her waterlogged short-term nemesis. What a little terror she was, damaging equipment, soaking everything… Push came to shove.

"Sounds like you dodged a bullet there, Shaggy." Velma quipped. "At least it seems like you had a pretty decent class to teach. Good to hear."

"Yeah. You all seem pretty nice ladies." Daphne said, sort of unsure. It wasn't every day one got to call someone inhuman a 'nice lady'.

Phantasma let out another loud giggle. "Thanks! So, where's our rooms?"

And thus began the task of assigning rooms and unpacking. Quite a welcome…

Meanwhile, just down the street, a certain someone was walking with purpose, with intent, a man on a mission. For any passerby on the sidewalk, it was obvious it wasn't a peaceful mission, whether by looking at body language or recognizing who he was. Some shook their heads, wondering why he still tried to do what he was about to do, for this kind of thing was going on since the man was a child, if the word of the Coolsville locals was to be believed.

The bulky, unappealing man with curly red hair, ratty clothes, and a temper to match saw his familiar destination, his long-time opponents lurking within. He could never forget how their so-called 'leader' had always accused him of almost every crime that went on in Coolsville when they were kids… Obviously, it didn't matter to the man that he was the one that had bullied the five children first, actually starting the feud in the first place. Stubborn people like him never considered such facts. Stubborn and malicious, always a bad combination…

But today… To-freakin-day!... The man would finally get one over on the foolish Freddy and his friends or his name wasn't known as Red Herring.

Then, he saw it. The smoking wreck barely resembling a bus, parked haphazardly right in front of Mystery Inc Apartments' front gate. For a moment, he pondered this. Anyone would, considering the fact that it looked like it hasn't run properly in years. But the moment passed, for another thought had come across Red's mind. 'What if those fools have friends over? Perhaps I'll steal their crap if it's still in here. Friends of theirs are enemies of mine!'

Plan decided, he started toward the bus…

**Author's Note: **And there you have it. Personally, I wondered if I did a decent job of this whole 'gang meets Grimwood Girls' segment. So many people in the scene at once, how do I know if the group conversation feels genuine, rather than feeling obviously scripted? Obviously, I'm far from being an expert at writing, so I hope you can bear with me if any parts of any of my works feels off or in need of correction.

As such, REVIEWS are nice. Speaking of which, it's time to answer some Reviewer Questions/Comments!

Nightmaster000 – I can't say I've seen much of any of the more-recent movies/shows, so I probably won't be able to accurately do an "alternate take on movies/episodes, featuring Team Grimwood". My apologies. Still, thanks for the compliments.

Cody.a. – When I said what I said about Shaggy being a stoner, I meant how a lot of fans believe that he's a stoner due to how he typically acts in the shows/movies as it is, with both his laid-back attitude and, of course, a permanent case of 'The Munchies'. I wouldn't have him be out-of-character anyway. Thanks for the input, though. Glad you're liking it!

Lavendor Queen –Thank you for your nice words. Believe me, I'll keep this going as much as I can.

Patrickthenobleman – Exactly, dude! And a very good point. Although I guess that would depend on which early movie came first, continuity-wise. If Reluctant Werewolf came first, I'd like to think that ol' Drac may be forgiving toward Shaggy for defeating him when he hears how he saved Sibella. If Ghoul School came first, I think Sibella would be quite displeased with her father for forcing her favorite Coach to race against his will. As for your Batman comment, that brings up a thought… Should I have the Grimwood Girls' parents find out where they went? Lol. Dracula meeting Shaggy again might be interesting, considering Reluctant Werewolf and the fact that Mystery Inc would be present for the encounter.

DeathbyFurbies1 – Well, you've got some of the gang's input on the Grimwood Girls now. Lol. It'll be interesting to see how they get along with Mystery Inc as their stay continues and events unfold.

Well, that's all the 'fan mail' for now. Reviews are certainly important, as they're the best way of letting an upstart like myself know how I'm doing. Also, pardon my shameless plug, but if anybody likes Teen Titans, Danny Phantom, Beetlejuice, and/or Mass Effect, feel free to check out my other works that I presently have up.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Secure The Valuables!

Replies to reviews will be AFTER the chapter, in case people want to get right to the story. Enjoy the third chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Been that way since I was born.

Chapter 3: Secure The Valuables! (Or "Why Red Herring Will Never Ride A Bus Again")

With all the confusion of the surprise visit and the sudden panic from the possibility of an exploding bus, some things are easy to overlook. One such thing that the Grimwood Girls would momentarily come to find out is the fact that they left their luggage in the bus…with the door hanging wide open for anyone curious enough. Unfortunately for the group, the one person curious enough to go in for a closer look just happened to be one pissed-off s.o.b.

Red Herring, the lumbering thug that he was, was certainly looking for any excuse to be a thorn in the side of Mystery Inc. This derelict bus might prove to be a way, if only for providing possible crap to steal. And what do you know, the door's open. The entranceway looked more like a path up to some torture device rather than the front of a bus, but there were still stairs and a (rust-covered) railing. Cautiously putting one foot on the first step, he grabbed the railing. He gave it a tug, not trusting it. It held strong. And so he walked up.

The first thing he noticed was the musty smell. The air wasn't particularly foul, but it just smelled stale with a hint of a metallic coppery air. The second thing was the condition of the seats. All the seatbelts were missing, the better seats had tears and even missing patches of the seat cushions, the worst couple of seats having no cushions whatsoever, just bare springs. Red began to think that this was a waste of time…until he saw them. Five small suitcases, each different in appearance, resting upon a couple of the better-off seats. Possible jackpot.

Red hoped that whatever creeps that owned the bus actually had worthwhile items he could pawn off, like music players or something. Which suitcase should he start off with? Certainly not the silky purple one. Too girly. Might be nothing but dresses and makeup… Why the hell was there one wrapped up in gauze? The light-blue one may be a possibility. He wasn't sure about the beat-up leather-brown one… Then there was one that looked like parts of different kinds of suitcases cobbled together. Weird, but perhaps it's custom-made to contain a lot more stuff than how it appears?

Only one way to find out… He grabbed the pieced-together suitcase and started to zip it open….

Meanwhile…

"…and so, thanks to dear Coach Shaggy's confidence in us, we scored the final point and finally put those Calloway Cadets in their place." Sibella finished with a smile. The Grimwood Girls were regaling Mystery Inc of Shaggy and Scooby's time at the School. As with Shaggy earlier, Sibella had made sure to edit out the part about their encounter with evil. No need to worry about that anymore anyway.

The gang was suitably impressed. Shaggy, a good teacher? Who'd have thought? Velma smirked, her woman's intuition acting up. 'Jinkies. The way she talks about him… Not sure if female vampires are 'always on' like that, but Shaggy may want to watch his neck.' She thought, suddenly having to stifle a giggle.

Suddenly, from outside (despite the doors and windows being shut), the sound of a very familiar classic rock tune began blaring. Elsa seemed to snap to immediate attention and started rushing for the door, as with Phantasma and Winnie. Sibella sighed.

"What's going on?" asked Fred.

"Like, I dunno, man, but that song takes me back." Shaggy answered, playing a little air-guitar to the ongoing jam. Scooby, being the ham, mimicked Shaggy's actions, despite everybody else focusing their attention toward going outside or looking out a window. Except Tanis and Sibella.

The two young women were staring at their Coach's strange antics. Neither of them ever witnessed or experienced the human concept of 'rocking out' before, despite having heard a few human tunes here and there. It was… interesting. In a good way, of course. Nonetheless, Sibella felt she needed to interrupt.

"Shaggy? We'd better get outside and see what's going on. I'm afraid something is wrong." she stated. Shaggy stopped and looked at the vampire. "Like, wrong? What's up?"

"If I'm not mistaken, that music is actually our security alarm for our luggage. We left our bags on the bus. Somebody seems to have been trying to rummage. Perhaps the rumors are true about human cities being full of pickpockets…?" Sibella mused, almost dejectedly. She had hoped that the hometown of her dear friend was a decent place. Perhaps it is. She wouldn't judge a whole town by the actions of just one petty wrongdoer.

"Well, that explains why you guys bolted outta here in a hurry. Like, we might as well go see too!" He answered. The four of them quickly left to catch up. Still, Shaggy couldn't figure out why such groovy music had to be an indicator for something wrong…

When they finally caught up with the others, the music had been turned down, but was still quite audible. That fact was quickly cast aside mentally by the apparent fact that, from the view they could see from outside, Elsa and Winnie seemed to be double-teaming whoever the unlucky thief is inside. Although the members of Mystery Inc could swear that the male screaming sounded familiar… The classic rock in the background made the impromptu fight show seem a little surreal, even to the small gathering of neighbors that were also drawn out by the blaring music. Good thing the bus windows didn't give the crowd too clear a view of the combatants.

The motions were haphazard to see at most. A punch here, perhaps a kick there, smacking the thief's head against the back of a random seat, then a window. The struggle seemed to be moving toward the front of the bus. Finally, with the finality that only an immature short-fused werewolf could think to deliver, the thief's head was apparently smashed three times upon the center of the steering wheel, causing three distorted bleeps of the broken-down horn to be heard. Promptly, Winnie then shoved the unfortunate soul down the couple of steps until he hit the ground. Mystery Inc, especially Fred, recognized that tangled, curly mop of filthy red hair anywhere.

"Red Herring!" the five said in unison.

"So it WAS you!" Fred exclaimed, excitedly. Daphne rolled her eyes. Her boyfriend STILL had that obsession against the childhood bully… She agreed that Red's been a jerk since day one, but enough was enough.

"This the guy you mentioned before when you pulled my hair, blondie?" Winnie asked, remembering him briefly mentioning the name in passing. She and Elsa stayed in the confines of the bus, also having noticed the small gathering of curious humans. Phantasma was also around, but had gone invisible when she had noticed the neighbors leaving the house. Lord knows what their reaction would be to ghosts and monsters. The teenage golem finally reached into her suitcase again and managed to stop the music.

"Yep. That's him. He's the town bully, always been on our case since we were kids. Guess he couldn't resist stealing. Not surprising. Always knew he'd pull shit." he explained, giving the unconscious bum a light nudging kick to his side. Again, Daphne rolled her eyes, this time Velma and Shaggy joining her in doing so.

"You always think he does things. Every local crime news here in Coolsville, you keep saying he did it. It's one reason why we tend to stay on the road sometimes. Out of sight, out of mind." Daphne accused, aggravated. Does that ascot-wearing dork know how embarrassing he can be sometimes?

Sibella cautiously approached Shaggy, not wanting to draw attention to herself and Tanis from the neighbors. She hoped that the random humans would think that they were… what was that term Shaggy's friends had used? 'Cause-playing'? 'Cass-playing'? Whatever it was… "Shaggy? So… this human has caused you problems before?"

"Like, yeah. He never liked us at all. Then again, he doesn't seem to like much of anybody, not with his attitude anyway. When we were kids, like, he'd always find reasons to pick on us and push us around. We still can't figure out why he started doing that in the first place, other than, like, being raised wrong or something."

"Rupid jerk…" Scooby muttered, growling a little in Red's direction.

"Now, now, Scoob. Like, I know he's tiring to deal with sometimes, but I'm sure things'll work out. He might find, like, something else to do." Shaggy said, even though a part of him knew that was wishful thinking. Scooby stopped growling and snickered, trying to picture Red Herring doing anything else and only coming up with a mental image of Red as a bouncer or a gas station janitor.

"He doesn't look like a very nice human…" Tanis said. Even from a distance, Red would never be mistaken for a friendly-looking soul, no thanks to his hand-me-down street clothes, cheap brass knuckles hanging off a chain, and pock-marked face with yellow teeth. Sibella looked lost in thought for a few moments.

"What a wretched soul… Does he really have nothing better to do? Hmm… Shaggy, I think I have a fang-tastic idea. Can I borrow you and a vehicle?"

"Uh, what's your plan, Sibella?" Shaggy asked, suddenly feeling a little unsure. What could a vampire possibly come up with to safely deal with a human nuisance? It's not that he didn't trust her, far from that. He was just worried that her idea might go a little awry. But still, it's Sibella. Kind, gentle Sibella who, according to one of her letters, only drinks human blood from pilfered packs of donated blood. What could go wrong?

"Nothing of the extreme, Shaggy. You have no need to worry, I assure you." the purple girl replied, looking intently at him. Shaggy felt his immediate worry fade away. Whatever she had planned for the bully, it couldn't be that bad. "Like, alright." Sibella smiled, causing Shaggy to blush a little and chuckle for some reason. Why was he suddenly acting like he's 14 again, shy and awkward? Tanis noticed the interaction and flustered. She timidly went up and placed a hand on Shaggy's arm.

"D-don't worry, c-c-Coach. Whatever she has in mind, we'll be on our best behavior. Promise!" she said, her own face a little red from her boldness of actually touching him. She gave him her own little smile, to which he returned. "Like, I'm glad to hear that, Tanis. I know you girls don't mean any harm. Now, let's 'take out the trash'." Shaggy said, heading closer to the others who had gathered around the fallen bully.

At this point, Elsa was off the bus but standing in front of the doorway. Winnie wouldn't get off until she was sure the neighbors lost interest and went back inside. Shaggy, Scooby, Sibella, and Tanis approached, the mummy being flanked by the other three to avoid public attention.

"Like, I think we got an idea on how to deal with him, guys. We'll take him from here." Shaggy said. Fred, Daphne, and Velma looked at him. "Really? What's the idea? Something funny?" Fred asked, hoping that it'll be something to embarrass his old rival.

"Well, I guess you could say that, Fred." Sibella replied with an amused smirk. "We will need your vehicle, though. Let's just say we're going to be dropping him off somewhere."

"The police station, I hope. He was trying to steal." Daphne pointed out. More and more to Daphne, it seems the safest place for Red would be behind bars. Sibella shook her head. "No, but you won't have to hear from him for at least some time, nonetheless."

"Like, where's the keys? I get the feeling Sibella would rather drop him off before he comes to." Shaggy asked. Having a good feeling about where this might go, Fred reached in his pocket and threw him the keys to the Mystery Machine. "Like, thanks. Oh! And Elsa? What triggered the music anyway?" he asked, curious.

Elsa looked down, a little embarrassed. "He… opened my suitcase. I put a sort of… security device in all our suitcases. I'm handy like that…" she said. Shaggy grinned, suddenly understanding the song choice.

"'Frankenstein' by The Edgar Winter Group?" he asked. Elsa glared at Shaggy in a 'please, don't laugh' kind of way, her face glowing red. The lanky former-coach grinned. "Hey, like, it's alright. I love that song!"

That made the homebuilt teenager feel better. The last thing she wanted was her coach to laugh at her taste in music because of the obvious reason she chose it. Not her fault it's very fitting for her and her family…

Slowly, consciousness came back to Red. What came first was a throbbing headache, which helped speed the process along. The second was the near-overbearing smell of garbage, practically punching him in the nose, causing him to try to roll away from what he guessed was the source. Finally, he was awake enough to open his eyes. Not much there to greet his vision as he looked straight up, two outer walls of buildings between a strip of clear-blue sky. He tried sitting up. His body protested painfully, in turn, making his headache worse. He slumped back down, his head lolling to the side, revealing the source of the stench.

He had been lying next to bags of garbage surrounding an overflowing dumpster. Where the hell was he? New York? Chicago? His mind struggled to remember, it being a little too busy regaining his senses. What was he doing? Something about rummaging through a bag? He wasn't sure. He mentally retraced his steps. Woke up, tossed darts at the worn picture of that damnable Mystery Inc he had placed on a dartboard, had breakfast, noticed he was running low on food, decided to take a walk to see if there was anybody worth shoving around… Blank. Nothing. What the hell had he been doing?

After what seemed like half an hour, he tried sitting up again. He succeeded this time. Progress! One step at a time. As he first thought from the sight of the dumpster, he was laid out in an alley. A glance toward one end of it revealed a normal city street, cars passing by, perhaps a pedestrian. Did somebody mug him? That would be a twist, even he had to admit. Ten more minutes passed before he managed to get his sore body on his feet and (barely) walking.

Stumbling, he made it to the sidewalk. Maybe he could recognize where in Coolsville he was. At first, he didn't. Only that he was certain it was somewhere downtown, due to the busy car traffic and the number of businesses in his field of vision. To his immediate right sat a row of little metal and glass shelters with benches in them. A bus stop. He was at the downtown bus stop. Was he going somewhere when whatever happened had happened?

As if on cue, a bus began to pull over to pick up citizens at that very stop, coming near where he was. It was a very normal and mundane occurrence for everyone else. And it would've been for Red Herring too… but as the bus drew near, Red began to question how okay he really was. To him, the bus began to look like something else. A different vehicle altogether. What he saw pass by was a rust-covered, broken-down, smoking behemoth barely resembling a bus, the bus door looking like a sort of vertical mouth with jagged teeth-like shards of metal. Barely visible in the windows were two vicious-looking beings, one very furry and the other quite tall and built like a brick shithouse.

Forgetting the pain and his headache, Red Herring did the only thing plausible for his situation. He screamed as loud as possible and ran off, screaming nigh-incoherently something about 'demon buses' and, strangely enough, '70's classic rock music'…

His actions weren't unnoticed, of course. Bus riders, pedestrians, and even car drivers alike briefly took notice of the screaming weirdo, some people commenting on the sudden spectacle as he ran by. It definitely had the attention of 4 beings in a familiar mostly-green van. "Like, what was that, Sibella?" Shaggy asked, watching the long-time bully clumsily collide into a trio of random citizens in his haste.

"Ah, just my plan working." came Sibella's sultry answer, seemingly laced with personal pride. "I am not the expert at what humans truly know of vampires, but let's just say that we are masters of subtlety. For example, hypnotic suggestion. Normally, we would have to maintain eye contact for that to work, but it appears unconsciousness is effective enough for proper stimuli. Sort of like that theory of sleep-learning. I had changed his memory of his encounter with Elsa and Winnie to nothing more than a subconscious vision that would occur whenever a bus draws near. Otherwise, he's completely forgotten it and he learns a valuable lesson. Hmm… Well… not really learning, since doesn't even know what he did, but from our standpoint, we're 'schooling him', as I believe a saying goes."

"Roah! She's rike a ripnotist!" Scooby remarked, snickering at Red's antics as the trio of citizens angrily wrestled the panicked Red to the ground.

"Like, yeah, a hypnotist! Is that why you had the three of us stand outside the van for a minute before putting him in that alley?" Shaggy asked. The purple vampire sitting next to him grinned, fangs showing. Shaggy gulped, suddenly feeling quite relieved that the girl's on his side. For a brief moment, a part of him thought her fanged grin was attractive. Where did that thought come from?

She then answered. "Indeed. I wouldn't want any of you three to accidentally look at me and be affected by my suggestion. I had to act like I was maintaining eye contact in order for the effect to happen. I wasn't sure if it would work, to be honest, but now we know it does. You won't have to deal with him for a while. The suggestion's effects will wear off eventually but he wouldn't want to be near any buses from now on."

Tanis piped up. "Wow, Sibella. You can really prank 'em when you're in the mood. Wish I could come up with something like that." She looked at her hands. All she could really do is control her bandages like they were a sort of living rope. Sibella looked back at her friend, smiling. "You've got talent yourself, little one. Remember that time you managed to tie everyone's feet together with your bandages when we were sleeping?"

The adorable mummy giggled at the memory, remembering how everyone complained about falling on their faces when they got out of bed that particular morning. "Do I ever. That was a fun one." The vampire's smile widened. She knew there had to be a way to help get her bandaged friend to be more assertive and come out of her shell more.

"Alright, Shaggy. Let's fly home, shall we? We've seen quite enough and we still need to unpack." Sibella quipped just as a nearby cop arrived and forcibly separated the struggling mass that contained one traumatized bully.

"Like, groovy idea, Sibella." he replied, starting the engine and driving out of the opposing alley they were observing from. Sibella decided that she really liked it when he called anything of hers 'groovy'.

**Author's Note:** Hmm… Shorter chapter than 2, I guess. This particular idea for Red Herring's appearance in this fic seemed to come together like this. I hope you all like how I did this. Also ended up having Sibella demonstrate a little vampiric power, even if it was something a bit subtle. I know this chapter got posted relatively quickly, but bear in mind that, for me, ideas tend to come in spurts, so if I take a while, I do hope you all are patient with me. Thank you in advance.

As for Elsa's little security alarm idea, I thought it'd be fantastic to have her own alarm be something so obviously fitting (seriously, listen to "Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter Group). In fact, I've come up with "fitting alarm music" ideas for each girl!

Sibella: "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" by Type O Negative (although the beginning of it is a little quiet to be considered an alarm. Still, fitting.)

Winnie: "Bark At The Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne. Either that, or "Werewolves Of London" by Warren Zevon.

Phantasma: The original Ghostbusters theme song, of course!

Tanis: "People Are Strange" by The Doors (More because of her shy demeanor. What "mummy" type songs are there anyway? "Walk Like An Egyptian"?)

Are my song ideas good? Bad? Indifferent? You be the judge. Read and Review please! Speaking of which… Public Review Replies!

BW Lewis – Nice to hear from you, as I do like your Titans work. Yeah, I figured those would be the top 3 Grimwood Girls that would probably have a heart for Shaggy. Not that Phantasma or Elsa wouldn't like Shaggy (They probably like him too), it's just the way it would seem to be like to me, trying to rank it from "most likely" to "least likely".

Nightmaster000 – While I do enjoy a good harem, I'm still trying to decide whether it should be one of those or not. Either way could work, but you know how it goes with trying to decide which way a story should go. No matter what, Shaggy's coming out of this a winner (Spoiler alert! Lol, not really.). As for your last question, well, we've just seen one minor misadventure. Guaranteed to be more.

DeathByFurbies1 – Thanks for the praise, dude. I hope you liked this Red Herring-centric mishap. And hey, I don't mind helping out a fellow fic writer.


	4. Unsettling In

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.

Chapter 4: Unsettling In

Around the time that a certain red-haired bully was being hauled off to a police station for "disturbing the peace", something was about to happen at a certain fabled location. Often posed as located in Transylvania, there was a certain something about the famous castle of one Count Dracula… Almost like the castle itself had its own semblance of sentient consciousness. Over the centuries, the overall design of the castle changed. But no mortal worker ever set foot in the morbid manor, past or present. Nor would most of the castle lord's contacts be likely to venture in something as mundane-sounding as reconstruction… Not to mention the fact that most of the changes would be so radical, it's like the entire thing had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

No, the castle had to be sentient. Thus was part of the extent of Lord Dracula's power. But that was neither here nor there to the castle's main resident.

Not when a glorious event was impending.

"Ah, I can't believe my Sibella is graduating that finishing school. Splendid! I once heard that mortal humans have a saying about having offspring, that they grow up so fast. Perhaps that is true after all. I can still remember when she vas just a tiny little bat…" his accented voice said aloud to no one in general, despite knowing that his floating second-in-command had hovered into the room moments ago.

"My lord…" the head minion said in a dry, raspy voice. "This letter has just arrived for you… from America."

America. There was only one contact from that arrogant, excessive mass of humanity that would dare make contact with the Lord of Vampires. "Ah, yes! Hand it here, loyal servant. It must be about my daughter."

Taking the letter from his right-hand entity, he wasted no time in ripping it open and reading it. "Hmm… Vat! Vat do they mean there won't be any formal ceremony? Does not the Princess of Vampires deserve some sort of recognition!?" he sputtered, pausing halfway through the letter. Annoyed, he began reading the rest, hoping for some clarification.

"Hmm… Most unsettling. Vat vould possess all five of those girls to want to venture into the mortal realm for one mere mortal? Hmm…A Mr. 'Shaggy' Rogers…. Hm?! That name….. I have heard it before… Ah…Yes, I remember now…"

How could he forget one of his few follies? That one failed Monster Race… He still curses the Wolfman for being sick at the time, for all the trouble that seemed to follow with forcing in a replacement werewolf. Mr. Shaggy had proven to be a more-than-capable driver, but the nerve to upend Dracula's plot and actually win his freedom…? That had been a blow to Dracula's pride.

As if he hadn't had enough to deal with in past centuries when his world domination schemes were foiled by that pesky Belmont family, one scheme per century… But that was another story.

Now, Mr. Shaggy had the absolute nerve to teach at his daughter's school and lure her out into the human realm? HIS daughter? This matter needed serious investigation! Why would she go? Was this some human ploy? Was Shaggy plotting some sort of vampire-hunting revenge for the werewolf curse, even though that was years ago? He had to see for himself.

"I must go to America and see that my daughter is unharmed. Who knows vat mortals might do? You'll be in command vile I'm gone, yes?" he asked his bony comrade. The cloaked figure nodded his head silently.

"Very vell. Until I return." With that, Dracula turned around with a sweep of his cape and left his throne room. The other figure floated over and hovered upon the regal throne, scythe in hand. It wasn't often that he was placed in charge of things, but as one would expect, Death himself tends to make an efficient commander…..

Meanwhile…

The streets of Coolsville looked like any other mortal town streets, normal and usual. But to someone of seemingly-endless energy that's in a brand new realm, Phantasma just couldn't help exploring for a while. But did she just go for a stroll? No. Fly around in a cursory tour of the city? Nope. She just had to do things her way. So, with her music player on, her headphones in her ears, and a wide smile on her face, she grooved her way down the street. Yes, she DANCED her way down sidewalks as she took in the sights of the town.

Of course, she did so invisibly. No need to worry her precious Coach, after all. He was placing his trust in her (and the others) to not cause any sort of panic. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't have a little bit of fun with it….

Some passerby might have sworn that they saw an erratically-floating mp3 player and headphones passing by (her powers allowing just that to be visible). Others might have felt a cold draft, even though it was a warm summer day (but in reality, Phantasma deliberately floated through them). Whenever she passed a storefront, she couldn't help putting her face up to the window to gawk at whatever human items were on display. That, in turn, ended up causing more amusing mischief as a round spot of condensation formed where her face was, the shapes of wide eyes and a manic grin forming in the round spot of fogged window.

Oh yes, Coach Shaggy's town definitely did seem like a 'scream' to live in. Speaking of screams… Just down the street was a movie theater… and it happened to be playing an all-day marathon of ghostly horror movies. To her, it was a perfect recipe for a wonderful prank. Pop in, remain invisible, scout for suitably jittery viewers, wait for a scary moment, appear before him/her/them while making some freaky face, and watch the fireworks.

It was perfect. But should she? One part of her, she imagined a tiny version of her wearing a cute little raggedy angel's outfit, thought that her dear Coach would be so ashamed of her if she did that, after putting so much faith in her good behavior. Another part of her, imagined as a punk-rocker version of her with even messier hair, pondered when the next opportunity like this would ever happen again. (Answer: probably next Halloween season.) It also pointed out that Shaggy would be too good-natured to hate her at all, not to mention, her 'victims' would probably think they were just freaking out and saw things or something.

As if some form of sign, her music player (set on shuffle, loaded with a bunch of randomly-picked human tunes she wanted to sample) started playing "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. "_Relax! Don't do it when you want to go to it! Relax! Don't do it when you want to come!_" It almost seemed like her Coach was guiding her from afar. Her mind made up, she giggled softly to herself. There would be other times. But for right now, her ethereal body served the beats of the music as she erratically moved along, starting back toward Mystery Inc.'s apartments.

She was definitely practicing her music again when she got her new room organized!

It was around 3 in the afternoon by the time the Grimwood Girls had rooms assigned and their luggage brought in and unpacked into a suitable (lack of) organization. And of course, had lunch. That in itself was a surprise for the rest of Mystery Inc, due to the girls' penchant for foods that squirm and crawl… Well, at least that was what they were told Grimwood School had kept a constant supply of, anyway. But, curiosity getting the best of them, they didn't mind trying out simple mortal food.

Sibella had brought with her a small supply of blood packs, which oddly enough was considered admirable by Velma. The brain of the group explained to the rest that a vampire who didn't mind getting her food from donated blood wouldn't randomly attack people for a meal at all. Tanis, who wasn't sure what to try, settled on the giant sandwich that Shaggy was going to eat, figuring that she might like what her Coach likes. Using her arm bandages as rope, she lassoed his sandwich from him, surprising everyone.

"Um… Can I try this, Mr. Shaggy…?" she timidly asked when Shaggy had looked at her in surprise. Looking at her, he couldn't say no. Who'd have thought that a mummy would manage to pull off that "cute puppy-dog" look? And so he compromised. He vertically split the sandwich down the middle and gave her half, to which she gladly took and started to nibble on her tower of a sandwich.

Winnie's lunch was simple: Raw meat. Definitely raw meat. Shaggy remembered her mentioning in passing that the previous night was a full moon. 'Going feral' always did leave a werewolf with an increased appetite for flesh a little while… Thankfully, any meat would do, hence the plate full of raw beef steaks.

Phantasma and Elsa both just sampled random things off of the small spread that Shaggy had laid out for the guests, not really sure what kind of fresh food his friends were willing to try (aside from what they'd already brought/asked for). Technically, Phantasma didn't really need to eat for obvious reasons, but she loved the taste of food.

Presently, though, the girls were just finishing up their unpacking. Sibella had her own room, Winnie and Elsa shared another, as did Phantasma and Tanis. As Mystery Inc would find out when they eventually came to their apartments to check in and see how they were doing, the girls seemed to have their own unique definitions of 'comfortable living space'.

The least-threatening brand of 'unique living arrangements' came from, obviously, Tanis. Not wanting to put up with the trouble of bringing her actual sarcophagus, heavy and bulky as it was, she settled for her easy-to-pack, light-weight 'air-sarcophagus'. Shaggy had offered to help blow it up for her using an air pump, seeing as he didn't want her to strain whatever remained of her lungs. Fred and Daphne found the idea of a mummy having her own form of air-mattress to be comical, failing to resist a couple of guffaws at seeing the plastic casket. Velma, unsurprisingly, had to praise the ingenuity to adapt to certain human inventions for personal convenience.

Questions were asked about the four thick-looking gloves that came out of Winnie's pack. "Well, I don't want to end up ruining the bed with my claws, so I wear these on my hands and feet. I kinda toss 'n' turn a bit while I sleep…" she huffed as an answer. "Hate these things…" was heard amongst a growl. If she were to be brutally honest, she would've admitted that, if it were any other mortal than her Coach, she wouldn't give a damn about a borrowed mattress.

Elsa was almost comically predictable, but was still no less off-putting. A portable generator with jumper cables lay next to her bed. Fred pondered the question of how somebody could put up with having to be 'charged' every night like she was a smartphone. He wasn't aware he had wondered that aloud until Elsa responded with "Well, if it makes you feel any better, they say I sometimes play music while I sleep if somebody plugs a music player in my generator." Daphne dared not ask if that was a joke or not.

"Hey, Elsa. Remember the time we plugged some cable wire in your generator? You brought us some free mortal-world HBO!" Winnie snickered.

"Yeah. You ended up giving me an overcharge that night. Ever feel like you're on a permanent sugar rush? Yeah. Had that going for a whole day…"

"Could've been worse…" Phantasma chuckled as she floated in, obviously overhearing. Winnie groaned. The werewolf had a sense of Phanty's humor kicks… "Aw, no. Don't say it…"

"We could've seen a…"

"Don't!"

"…Pay-Per-BOO!" Shrill laughter followed her punchline as Winnie facepalmed, Mystery Inc groaned, and the other Grimwood Girls just rolled their eyes, used to the ghost girl's askew sense of humor.

"Dammit, Phanty! Just because you're dead doesn't mean humor has to be as well!" Winnie barked, her fur and hair beginning to look slightly more feral with her temper.

"Speaking of you, like, how do you sleep, Phantasma?" Shaggy asked, hoping that changing the subject will avoid setting off Winnie completely. The laughing ghost stopped laughing and smiled at her Coach.

"Oh, I'll just use the bed, since Tanny's got her air-sarcophagus. Although it probably won't be much use. I'd probably end up floating anyway." she said, without a care in the world, giggling.

"And how about you, Sibella?" Shaggy asked, turning to the young vampire. Sibella smirked. "Oh, I dunno. Do you mind if I stick the bed on the ceiling?" The other humans goggled at this. "Kidding. I'll probably be either using the bed or sleeping upside-down in bat form. It depends how I feel. Hmm… Although, do you have anything that can block the light in the bedroom window, in case the sun rises in that direction? I may be strong enough to deal with it, but it's not like it doesn't have any adverse effects…"

"Like, of course. I'll take care of that for ya." Shaggy said. Together, they headed toward the front door, Scooby following.

"Whipped." Winnie and Fred both muttered together. Shaggy and Sibella didn't hear, but they heard each other. "Jinx!" they both said again. "Double jinx!" they again went in unison.

"Jinx times infinity!" Winnie quickly butted in, hoping to derail this mirroring gag quickly.

"Jinx times infinity plus one!" was Fred's reply. "Dammit…." the redhead grumbled. It was certainly going to take some time for Mystery Inc to get used to their new neighbors…

Night fell as it always does, slowly and without noise. A peaceful night it was, especially in the Louisiana swamplands, where a certain school for ghouls was buried within. Around 11-ish, a large old-looking bat fluttered into the swamps, almost intent on its purpose. It almost got lost within the twists and turns, but it was only a short time before it found the ghoul school. Landing on its front entranceway, the bat's form began to become blurry and expand in size until its form became human-shaped. Dracula stood in his unholy regal attire, cape and all.

But his royal demeanor was quickly rendered nonexistent when he began pounding on the door like a pissed-off neighbor complaining about loud music. It only took two minutes until somebody finally answered his noisy entreaties. There stood a short, plump woman, wearing a nightgown.

"What is it…? Oh! I remember you. Mr. Dracula! How are you this fine evening?" Ms. Grimwood said, immediately cheering up at the prospect of talking to the father of one of her outstanding graduates.

"Vell, I myself am doing fine. However, this is not what you call a social call." Dracula said, barging inside past Grimwood. The headmistress frowned. She had a feeling of why he came.

"I take it you're not too pleased about the girls' decision about how they wanted to graduate?" Grimwood decided that the best course would be the direct approach, since even if Dracula was currently under the public impression of being in a "mid-life crisis" (no thanks to certain incidents, like that one monster race…), there was still no use in dancing around issues with the Lord of Vampires…

"I should say not. The mortal realm? Do you realize what harm could befall them?" Dracula asked sternly, crossing his arms. He took care not to completely lose his temper on the poor woman. After all, she did give his daughter a good education and had a decent reputation in the monster circles. Civility had its place here.

"Considering who they've gone to stay with, I would believe that they're in good hands. Mr. Shaggy is a very good man. In fact, he made quite the impression among the girls. During his stay and even afterward, they seemed to be in better spirits, pardon my pun, and took their lessons more seriously. It's like he'd become their role model. One could joke that it might be more than that…" Grimwood said. The sight of Dracula's eyes widening and his frown deepening was a sign that she probably shouldn't have said that last part.

"Vat do you mean? My Sibella wouldn't dare think of harboring any… feelings… for Mr. Shaggy." Dracula said in a certain fatherly tone that said that his answer was final. 'Certainly not a human. Definitely not THAT human…' he thought. "We vampires have certain standards to uphold after all. Pride, honor, class, and of course, our noble bloodline. It shan't be sullied by the likes of some mere mortal… vat's the term… 'grease monkey' who got lucky!" he ranted, chest appearing to puff out in bravado. Ms. Grimwood pondered if human women were right about males, that they were 'all the same' and not in a good way… Either way, she smirked at his statement.

"I had heard rumors amongst monster gossip but I didn't think it'd be possible that it'd be the same mortal. Mr. Shaggy was the one who outwitted you in that folly of a Monster Race, wasn't he…?" she asked in a sympathetic tone, taking the chance that phrasing it in such a way might avoid an outburst. Dracula was still known to be a dangerous individual when provoked…

The King of the Vampires didn't respond, but his stone-cold expression said all that needed to be said to Ms. Grimwood. So she went on. "Well, he certainly seems to be quite the lucky fellow. After all, there was that incident with Revolta the witch when he was teaching. He was quite instrumental in her defeat as well. You really should give the man some credit. He did save your daughter, after all. I sincerely doubt that he has any intention to harm any of the girls, especially Sibella." the headmistress argued in her own tone of finality.

For a moment, vampire and headmistress faced off in a glaring contest, a silent battle of wills. Logically, it would've been one-sided, were Dracula enraged enough to unleash his aura upon her. But emotion, the crazy thing that it can be, made him forget that little ability. "Ve'll see about that…" he spat, starting to pace about. "For your sake, pray that you're right."

"You can trust my word on things, you know." Grimwood simply answered, nonplussed by the Lord of Vampires being this petulant. Overprotective fathers... It was enough to make her want a drink.

"Still, I feel I should make sure she's alright. Vere exactly did she go?" Dracula asked, his tone softer. Sometimes it was better to concede a point rather than make a fool of one self. Ms. Grimwood shook her head, her mane of black hair shaking with it.

"I'm afraid that part of my task to them was a test. They would have to track Mr. Shaggy's home down themselves. I am still unsure as to whether or not they have reached his home or not, although most likely, they might have found him by now. However… I am not unkind. I can give you a hint to go by. If you can track down a mortal paranormal detective agency called 'Mystery Inc', you'll find your daughter."

"You vould have me track them down like a mere bloodhound?" Dracula said, glaring again. Temper, temper…

"You are lucky that I know that much, _Sir_ Dracula." Grimwood shot back, putting an emphasis on 'sir'. Dracula growled, his face screwed up in contained anger. "That's Lord Dracula…" he corrected. "Then act like one. You have a task you'd like done, so take care of business. What kind of example would you set for Sibella by acting like this?"

"Cheap shot... Fine. I'll find her myself. I thank you for the information." He said, storming over to the doorway. "A pleasant evening to you, madam Grimwood." he said in annoyed cordiality before he turned around, deliberately swooping his cape around with him dramatically and leaving. Apparently, royal manners hadn't been out-of-style for Dracula. Always nice to see.

Grimwood watched as he again morphed into a bat and flew off into the swampy forest. 'Maybe the time spent tracking Mr. Shaggy down will help you think things over…' she thought. 'Or… it might just infuriate him even more, if the search grows difficult.' she paused. She hadn't considered that little fact until just now. 'Well… I certainly hope Mr. Shaggy's lucky streak continues. I have a feeling he'll need it…'

**Author's Note: **I think I'll end this here. Seems like a good place to end this chapter. I hope it wasn't too uneventful or anything. As for ol' Drac, yes, I had to throw in some Castlevania references in the beginning part there. I couldn't resist. I just had to! The gamer in me wouldn't let me live it down! Lol. Also, I hope you'll pardon me trying to type Dracula's stereotypical accent. You know, the whole "I vant to drink your blood!" thing… I'm sure you can imagine that accent anyway.

If you have any suggestions for things that could happen, I'd love to hear them. General feedback is also welcome, as always. So please do review.

Shameless Plug Alert! Today, I also uploaded a new fic on the Teen Titans section, but as of now, it's merely an experiment that I would really like some feedback on. I think it's a good idea, but I'm not sure whether to make it a full-blown multichapter story or not. So, if you're a Teen Titans fan, I hope you'll check out my new idea and let me know what you think.

As always, thank you for reading!


	5. Mauling and Mall-ing

Author's Note: Holy crap! More than half a year since I updated this? Ok, ok… Sorry! Let's see… Life itself happened… A couple of other fanfic ideas came along… And writer's block, sort of. More on this later. I'm sure you wanna read the new chapter, so here we go!

Disclaimer: I do not own Scooby-Doo or any pop-culture references I happen to make in this story.

Chapter 5: Mauling and Mall-ing

Count Dracula would never be mistaken for, what the humans would call, a 'happy camper'. Especially not at the place he had currently stumbled upon in his quest to track down his precious daughter, Sibella. Aside from the location of Sibella's school, he did not know the land of America very well, mostly because he never cared for the reputedly egomaniacal nation. However, abandoned landmarks had a universal look. One could just tell that a place hadn't been occupied in years, decades, or centuries. Time and nature tend to do that…

Dracula was used to abandoned places. Half the time, his castle would get dusty and decay a little before he (or sometimes, the castle itself) decided that it was time to "remodel" it. However, this place… This lakeside summer camp… It was clearly abandoned for decades, but... he felt something relatively familiar to him.

A feeling of dread… Nothing to the King of Vampires, but that didn't mean he couldn't know it was there. The place seemed void of even animal life. Almost as if there was a good reason for that.

The place also seemed to carry a certain stench, an ever-lingering one that could be picked up by knowing predators. Sure, vampires didn't quite have the extremely-sensitive noses that their rivals, the werewolves, had. But still, Dracula knew that faint odor anywhere.

Death. Human death, particularly. Multiple deaths over the span of time until the smell seemed to be attached to the place like a minor afterthought. Dracula smirked at this. Any murdering foe of humans would probably be considered a friend of his. Depends on the killer, of course.

What was this… 'charming' place called again? Ah, yes… Camp Crystal Lake. He continued his curious leisurely late-night stroll through the rotting campgrounds, not yet aware of the lumbering figure a small distance away, machete in hand… Watching… Waiting… Hating…

Shaggy Rogers felt like a captain of a well-conditioned squad of soldiers. At least, he would very momentarily feel like it whenever he led the morning exercise routine with the Ghouls outside every morning as he watched his students effortlessly mirror his stretches and drills. Sibella and Winnie had talked him into reinstating his Coach status for the duration of their stay, at the very least, for mandatory morning exercises to keep the young ladies in shape. Phantasma had her suspicion that the vampire and the werewolf mainly wanted the chance to watch the Coach work out. Not that the ghost girl was mad about it, as she seemed to find herself gazing at Shaggy for longer than necessary during the workout. Nonetheless, it seemed to be a good move, as the new wake-up routine seemed to keep everyone energized for the day, even Mystery Inc's notorious slackers, Shaggy and Scooby.

It was the end of the Ghouls' first week in their new apartments. Mystery Inc had mostly gotten used to their new allies, although Winnie would still make Fred a little uneasy at times. Apparently, hair-pulling wasn't exactly something werewolves easily get over. Either that, or Winnie just didn't care much for the blond. When asked about it, the werewolf simply replied that he seemed like "he tries too hard". Velma and Elsa had surprisingly developed a friendship over knowledge. Together, they began conversing about different things, from human/monster differences in culture norms to scientific theories (as Elsa and her parents were pretty much created by a twisted sort of science anyway). The others knew to leave the duo be when their chats began getting to the levels of college professors.

Much to Fred and Daphne's chagrin, Phantasma decided to try to get to know them better. And by "getting to know them better", she apparently means "popping up in random places to observe human behavior". Shaggy had to tell them that it's part of how she is. "Like, c'mon. She's really nice, like, once you get used to her." And they did get used to her. But Daphne still wishes that Phantasma would stop trying to insist on 'girl talk' whenever she takes a shower (since that was the only chance they'd be alone, due to Fred and Daphne sharing an apartment). Phanty couldn't be blamed. She never had a chance to have 'girl talk' when she was alive and she thought that finally having a human woman to chat with would be interesting. She always had her Ghouls, of course, but human women were new again to her.

Little Tanis (adorably) never left Shaggy's side, practically speaking. Like a curious protégé, she tended to want to learn more about things Shaggy did as a regular living human, thus her crash-course on human culture and tendencies. Currently, she was getting used to human technology. Specifically, at the moment, video games. It could be considered astounding the advanced methods that humans could go to do something that humans have been doing since the dawn of language: telling stories to entertain. But, despite her confusion about which buttons did what, she was intrigued by the concept of her being somewhat in control of the story's direction.

Shaggy had to chuckle at her opinion of the couple of games that she tried out that featured the supernatural. Leave it to the real deal to proclaim that somebody's got some 'facts' wrong. Sibella even had a memorable opinion when she saw a depiction of a female vampire. (A/N: Think something like Morrigan Aensland from Darkstalkers.) "Must humans always put us in such revealing clothing? Most of us have a bit more class than that… But that doesn't mean that we don't show off now and then, of course." the purple girl hastily added, her face darkening in a sudden blush as she tried to ponder why she threw that factoid out there.

Ultimately, the inevitable happened when it came to the others noticing what Tanis was getting into. The competitive Winnie discovered multiplayer online gaming… Nothing, no force on Earth and certainly no vulgarity-spewing 10-12-year-old, could've been ready for the monsoon of werewolf-style verbal fury. By the end of her first hour online, Shaggy had ended up getting several threatening emails from the FCC about "his" abrasive language (Winnie was borrowing his account to play, after all). Shaggy didn't think the FCC monitored video game chatter… Thus, the headset mic was always (secretly) muted from then on whenever she played.

Mystery Inc had to admit one thing: The Ghouls certainly made their home life interesting to say the least.

"Yo, Coach! You zoning out or something? We've been doing jumping jacks for ten minutes now!" Winnie snapped, seemingly annoyed. She was more than used to her Coach's tendencies of klutziness, but this was a bit much.

"Zoinks! Like, I guess so! Alright, class, at ease!" Shaggy ordered, the weariness from so many jumping jacks hitting him like an anvil. Winnie was right. He was thinking so much about how great the past week has been so far that he lost track of what he was doing. Last time he zoned out like that was when he was trying to build the world's biggest sandwich and he got mentally lost trying to imagine how good it would taste.

Elsa and Tanis immediately plopped down on the ground, their limbs suddenly stiff from exhaustion, almost like rigor mortis. "Whew… It still looks like everything's jumping…" Tanis whimpered. Elsa simply nodded in agreement. "Like, sorry, ladies… I guess that'll do for morning exercises." Shaggy replied, wiping sweat off of his forehead with a swipe of a forearm.

"What fang-tastic activities shall we do today, Shaggy?" Sibella asked, sounding slightly winded as she was still catching her breath. A part of Shaggy liked how the purple vampire sounded just then, all worked up and out of breath. He wasn't quite sure why.

"Like, I think we need a trip out of the house. I think it'd be good for us, especially, like, those of us that can't help cussing out people on multiplayer gaming." the resident beatnik answered with a carefree smirk, glancing toward the hot-headed werewolf. Winnie scowled timidly, a stark contrast to her usual loud bursts of feral energy.

"Not my fault some of you humans can't back up the damn trash talk… 'Ohh, the wolf girl said thirty-seven foul words in thirty seconds and even ended her rant with a preposition! Waaah! Boo hoo!' And yet those are the guys people complain about? Bah…" Winnie grumbled, the fur on her face darkening with blush while the other Ghouls snickered. Winnie's unfortunate opponents at the time weren't exactly innocent, certainly proving the '12 year old Call Of Duty asshole' stereotype true.

"Like, it's alright, Winnie. They totally needed to be taken down a peg." Shaggy chuckled. "Anyways, like, I was thinking we could explore Coolsville, get you more accustomed to being around humans, ya know?"

"Eee! Now I won't be the only one looking around this town!" Phantasma shrieked excitedly, hovering higher. "Wait, you went off by yourself?" Elsa was suddenly concerned about what might've happened in town. The ghost girl giggled and lightly patted Elsa's stuck-up hair.

"Hey, you know me when it comes to exciting new places. I just can't sit still! Besides, I didn't do anything wrong out there. I stayed all invisible-like. It was soooo cool! People don't have special abilities like us, but they're so funny and neat! Well… Not all of 'em… I did come across a group of humans one time when I was flying through random buildings. Seemed to be all huddled together and quietly talking, which is odd because I've seen plenty of humans be all loud and expressive…or at least social. Those guys also had a buncha these human objects. I think they're weapons... Weren't they called 'guns'? Ah, whatever. They were talking about taking something. Ooh! It just came to me! I think those guys were thieves!"

Shaggy and Scooby were both dumbfounded. Of all the things for one of the Ghouls to stumble across… "Like… You found a criminal hideout…? Please tell me you just passed by…" Granted, what could human thugs do to Phantasma? She's a ghost. But still, Shaggy couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the city found out about that they're not teenage cosplayers. Phantasma excitedly shook her head.

"Nope! Stealing is wrong! So I had to… do something. Hehehe… Oh, you look so cute when you're freaked out, Coach! But you shouldn't worry. I just pranked them good. These 'gun' thingies fire stuff, right? Hurtful stuff? Ooh! Bullets! That's what they are! I remember from Winnie's video games! So, I quietly took all the bullets from their guns and replaced them with some of my ectoplasm. Anybody they shoot'll just get a harmless spray of green glowing 'glop'. Boy, won't their faces be red! Or should I say green?" the hyperactive ghost bragged, her crazed grin as big as it could get.

"Whoa, like, that totally explains that foiled robbery that was on the news yesterday. They said something about toy guns being used and, like, showed footage of the crooks being taken away. They looked totally baffled!" Shaggy snickered. Only a week here and the Ghouls end up changing things for the better, bit by bit.

"Oh, that reminds me! I still have all their neat bullets!" Phanty exclaimed as she suddenly gave her ragged simple dress a few shakes. Pistol clips, machine gun magazines, shotgun shells, a box of sniper rifle bullets, and even an old-school disc-shaped tommy gun canister of bullets fell out from beneath her dress and clattered around the ground below. Everyone's eyes bulged as Phanty stared lovingly at her collection of 'trinkets'. "Thought I felt a little bloated lately." the ghost mused passively.

"You… had all that up there?" Tanis asked meekly. She knew she could hide a small number of little objects within her bandages but she couldn't figure out how her ghostly friend could've carried all that beneath her clothes for at least a whole day.

"Dare I ask where exactly you had all that ammo?" Winnie snarked, her dirty mind imagining the only logical (and yet, very illogical) place Phantasma could've stuck those bullets.

Phanty knew the werewolf well. "Not there, Winnie. That's only for someone's 'love bullet'." the ghost said in a flirty kind of way, her gaze briefly directed toward her Coach, who raised an eyebrow. "I think I used the entendre right… But nah, I couldn't fit all that up there if I tried. Some of it, maybe… And no, I don't think these bullets would make good suppositories either. I can 'hide' things beneath my clothes without them falling out or anything. I think it's part of my abilities as a ghost. Or maybe it's a unique superpower! EEEEEE!"

"That's, like, really crafty!" Shaggy said, impressed. He curiously wondered if she currently had anything else hidden away. Food, perhaps…

"How come ya never mentioned that to us before?" Elsa needed to inquire, having thought she knew just about everything about her close friends. At least they could still surprise her.

"When one of you needed me to hide something from the others for one of your pranks or something, do you ask where I hide it?" Phanty shot back, a deceivingly-friendly smile on her face. Elsa shook her head, as did the other Ghouls. "Well, there ya go. Mad ninja skillz, dawgz! Uhh… I think that's how it goes… Whatever! I got super-clothes!" the chatty ghost proclaimed, throwing up a hand curled into a rocker-devil-horns gesture.

"Ruper-raffinated…" Scooby quietly mumbled to Shaggy, who had to agree. "Like, yeah. Didn't know ghosts could be affected by caffeine." Suddenly, Phantasma came up between the two and threw her arms casually around them. "Nah, no coffee. Just really like it here. So where we road-trippin' to?"

Around this moment….

Count Dracula was angry, but that didn't mean he never went anywhere unprepared. Normally, due to the sun, he would be in his coffin, sound asleep and well-protected from his greatest weakness. Fortunately for him, he remembered to bring a supply of vampire-strength sunscreen (SPF 10,000 of course) for just such a lengthy venture where sleep could not be an option. The sun would quickly become the least of the vampire's problems.

The dilapidated haunt that was Camp Crystal Lake had its silence abruptly broken as its legendary resident killer swung his machete at the lanky intruder that dared to exist in his presence. However, Jason Voorhees was surprised when the figure dissolved into a swarm of miniature bats that flew over and around the hulking undead death machine. The swarm gathered around a short distance away from Jason and turned back into the elusive interloper.

"Vat matter of impudence is this, mortal?! You dare attack me?! Know your place, fool!" scolded Dracula, already frustrated by the lack of clear directions to his daughter's location, not to mention the fact that he had just barely dodged a surprise attack. However, the Lord of Vampires had to admit that this burly mortal seemed to be adequately made for terror. Tall with raggy overalls, boots, the machete, and most notably, a stained old hockey mask that gave practically no detail to what lay beneath it.

The silent killer's gaze remained on the unnatural newcomer, aware that this was not merely another foolish teenager. His grip on the machete tightened as his ever-present rage grew. How dare this being continue to exist. A small insignificant part of the epitome of malevolence was intrigued by the idea of an opponent that could stand up to him and give him a challenge. After all, it had been some time since the last group of prey stumbled upon his territory. If Jason had an intellect, he would have reasoned that word of his deeds may have spread enough to keep prey away… Nonetheless, he had been bored. Or at least restless…

Dracula began to notice the little things about his attacker. Most obvious was that the lingering smell of death had grown stronger. A lot stronger. Fortunately for him, he was quite used to it, his castle housing more than a few corpses, undead and otherwise. Secondly was the lack of fear or even bravery from this man. Dracula's past encounters with mortals proved to the Vampire Lord that they could usually be easily read like a book, his vampire senses being of some aid. Some could be tricky, of course. But this particular being… Nothing. Not one lick of emotion from his body language and blank stare (from what he could see through the eyeholes of the hockey mask).

"Refuse to talk, mortal…? Vell, that vould be the first smart action you have done. I've heard many a blithering vermin before and I am in no mood to hear more." At Dracula's chiding, Jason began lurching toward him, machete ready to swing. "Touched a nerve, have I?" With that, he grabbed his cape and brought it around himself, enclosing his body in the black cloth. When the machete struck the lanky pillar of cape, the cape suddenly folded around the blade as if there was nothing within it. The apparently empty cape simply landed on the ground when Jason's swing ended, the killer confused and angry about the lack of a cut corpse.

Voorhees's tunnel vision prevented him from observing the plumes of mist floating around him until they all gathered a small distance behind him and conformed to a humanoid shape, which solidified as Dracula. "Leave me be, strange one. You do not know vat you are dealing vith…" the vampire said sternly, from one killer to another.

Jason turned toward the annoying voice of the intruder. There he was, still existing. But how? He had him a second ago. The limited intellect of the inhuman killer couldn't comprehend the idea of other beings with supernatural powers, his only exposure to other beings being the bumbling teenagers that were his prey. Although, there was that one time with the other being… but that was a dream. (A/N: Freddy vs Jason reference, anyone?) Regardless, what Jason understood was that his current prey was elusive, tricky. Jason charged at the tricky opponent.

Dracula scoffed at the lumbering foe. Imposing as he may be, he didn't have as much power as the Vampire Lord. However, as Dracula's senses had just confirmed, this foe was clearly a sort of undead. That would be his downfall. Glaring at the incoming Voorhees, he steeled his gaze at the eyeholes of the old hockey mask and unleashed his vampiric aura. Why put in the effort to fight what he could just simply command?

Jason had his eyes focused on his prey. Just a few more steps and his thirst for human murder would be sated again. Just then, he felt something strange. The urge to stop in his tracks. He did not know why he had that thought, nor why his body complied with it. He did notice an odd gleam from the eyes of the lanky opponent. At first, he thought nothing of it and continued forward. However, his body hesitated, the steps slow, as if he was pulling a boulder behind him.

"So… You aren't human, are you…? Vell, that's just perfect. You're quite vicious, I'll grant you that. Perhaps you'd like to join my ranks. Yes, you vould be useful for the next time I vish to try to take over… But that von't be for a vile. In the meantime, I must ask you… Do you know the way around this country?"

Jason heard words and didn't understand what any of them meant, obviously not having bothered with education after his death as a kid and his unholy transformation into the one-demon-army. And yet, he did understand. Unable to speak, he shook his head 'no' at his question, waving his machete toward the nearby run-down cabins as if indicating that this place was all he knew. The interloper… no, that word seemed wrong to him for some reason. Whatever he was, he grumbled a brief exclamation, his tone sounding negative.

"Damn…" spat Dracula. Of all the undead he could possibly have run into, why'd he have to come across a clueless homebound introvert? He needed directions! How was he going to reclaim his daughter if he couldn't even find where Mystery Inc was headquartered?

This was going to be a long trek. Shaggy Rogers has better be on his guard….

It was beginning to turn into another usual day for the Coolsville Mall Food Court as customers went about their business of either passing through or stopping at one of the restaurants or vendors for some lunch. However, for many of the food court employees, their normal days could be divided into two distinct categories: Slow days where it's just the hustle and bustle of the regular Coolsville folk…. and Shaggy Days, where the hungriest member of Mystery Inc would have a good number of employees scrambling to conjure up his gigantic orders of food.

Granted, Shaggy was never a mean sort to any of the employees and they all got along well enough, but filling such orders could still be a tedious task that many of the workforce found rather annoying. So when the tall, slender, brown-haired individual paraded a group of strangely bundled up individuals into the food court, some of the employees couldn't help grumbling to themselves about how work would really pick up.

Sibella couldn't help giggling to herself. Her food-obsessed dear friend was humorously predictable as the gang's first stop on their tour of Coolsville was the food court of the local mall. Not for the first time, she wondered how he managed to stay so thin, what with all she had heard about American human eating habits and the fattening result of such a routine. Back at the school, she remembered that Shaggy, Scrappy, and Scooby had to make do with what could pass as human food, due to the incompatibility of humans (and dogs) with most of the school's monster-centric food supply. But now that she and the other ghouls experienced life in his own habitat for a few days, they could notice his body's strange ability to not gain any body fat despite the amount of food he ate.

"Like, here we are. The mall! People like to do plenty of things here. Shop, hang out with friends, watch a movie in a theater, or, like, eat! Speaking of eating… This part's the food court, my favorite area." Shaggy explained to the ghouls, who were bundled up with hoodies and long pants to try to disguise their noticeable inhuman features. Some rolled their eyes about that last little factoid he mentioned. "Like, let's see… Anybody for Chinese? Subs? Pizza? Chicken? Burgers?"

"I'll take Chinese. I wanna see if that rumor's true about Chinese food being made of cat and dog." Winnie said, the predator in her taking the forefront of her mind again at the thought of fresh meat.

"Oh, I highly doubt it, Winnie. But Chinese food sounds interesting. I'll have some as well, Coach Shaggy." Sibella licked her lips, her tongue rolling over her fangs. The young vampire had randomly thought of the two of them sharing a meal. But alas, that idea would have to be another time.

"Subs have a lot of iron, right? That'll be good for me." Elsa rationed, taking a look around at the numerous food stands surrounding them. Phantasma giggled loudly. "Elsa, I think you're confusing that with submarines, those vehicles that go underwater. Me? I'll take some pizza."

"Like, what would you like on it, Phanty? I'll get it for ya." Shaggy asked.

"Pickles, ice cream, anchovies, and turkey."

Phantasma's request was met with silence as the other ghouls simply looked at her. Even by monster standards, that was quite a bizarre order for a human-style pizza. Shaggy, however, simply snickered.

"Like, man, that takes me back. I'm guessing Daphne or Fred, like, told ya about the time I had a pizza like that to celebrate a birthday?" Phantasma nodded excitedly while the others simply stared. Again, they asked themselves 'How was this human not, at least, overweight?'. Each began to wonder if he himself was somewhat inhuman. Winnie, for instance, had thought that he might make a good werewolf, considering the appetites of her family... Still, how was a glutton like him even human with such an appetite? Not that it mattered much, of course.

"Umm… I think I'll try a hamburger…" Tanis said innocently, noticing the ponderous looks of the others and trying to get things back on track. "Like, yeah, alright. Now girls, I'd like to see you interact with others here, so I'll give ya some money and you go to the stands and order your food. That, like, sound good?"

"Sure, Coach!" the girls said in jumbled unison.

"I'll go with Phanty to help her get a good pizza. Knowing this place, like, they wouldn't have too much in terms of weird toppings." Shaggy chuckled, imagining the hyperactive blue ghost 'insisting' on her order. Phanty grinned and almost started to float from excitement before remembering Coach's order to 'blend in'. Phanty and her Coach, together. She wasn't particularly sure why the thought appealed to her. But she gave it little thought for now.

The others, however, had to grumble at Phanty's hyperactive tendencies leading to Shaggy having to help her. Why does she get alone time with him? Did she already make a move? Sibella and Winnie, the keen observers they were, remembered her 'love bullet' comment from earlier. Doesn't take a rocket scientist (or Elsa) to figure out what her pun meant…

All four ghouls mentally decided not to press the issue yet. After all, it could be exactly as innocent as it looked. Phanty would definitely be the most likely to draw attention with her offbeat personality, even while disguised. If only they knew that they were all, on some level or another, thinking of the same desire…

The group of six gathered around a table with their chosen food. Winnie was noticeably upset about something, muttering out loud to herself. "Why those…. Stupid… How was I supposed to know they'd get upset from that question…? Tell me to screw off, will they…"

"Well, now you know that Chinese food isn't made from household pets. It's merely a bad human stereotype of the Chinese people. You're lucky they made your order." Sibella scolded as she curiously picked up her chopsticks. She doubted that Winnie was using the little wooden sticks correctly, watching the werewolf roughly jab and stab at her kung-pow chicken and eating it like a shish kebob.

Phanty munched on her pizza. Granted, as Shaggy had said, it wasn't the odd order she originally wanted, but having every available topping on it certainly proved tasty. She had given Shaggy a couple of slices of her pie, despite the beatnik already having a giant pile of calzones. In response, Winnie stuck a 'kebob' of kung-pow in Shaggy's direction, offering to share. That led to both Sibella and Tanis offering pieces of their lo mein/burger. Shaggy's pile of mixed food became complete when a quarter of Elsa's sub landed on top of it, the daughter of Frankenstein trying to be subtle with her face reddening a bit. She felt thankful for the hoodie she was wearing. He found the behavior odd, but decided not to question their generosity with food.

"Like, thanks, girls!" he said before digging in. "So, how'd you do at ordering food?"

"How do you think I did?" Winnie muttered through a mouthful of food as she gnawed on her Chinese kebob. Sibella, who figured out the right way of eating with chopsticks, glared at Winnie.

"I had to use a little… influence to prevent a scene from breaking out. Not the same extent I used on that pathetic bully of yours, of course, Coach. Just enough to make the employee bear with us and calm down. Sort of like how more attractive human women can get a man's attention by being flirty. Of course, if I didn't, he would've probably asked about my face being purple anyway…" Sibella explained in a tone that reminded some of a disappointed mother as she turned back to her food, picking up another small bite of lo mein noodles.

"And again I tell you I was just curious!" the werewolf practically barked as she struggled to keep her voice down, if only for Shaggy's sake. Noticing this, Shaggy decided to intervene. "Like, girls, it's ok! We all get, like, a little too curious sometimes. Perhaps what Sibella did could count as, like, a lesson in… umm… what's the word I'm thinking of…?"

"Uh, adaptation?" Elsa offered.

"Yeah! That's it. Adaptation!"

"Hmm… Fair point, dear Shaggy. It was merely a question, if only a fang-tastically bad one." The smile on the purple vampire's face did little to hide the catty amusement she found in Winnie's continued growling. The feral girl was a good friend, but sometimes she needed, as humans would say, a good ribbing.

"Umm… I think I still need to… to get used to this… I was nervous up there…" Tanis murmured almost to herself, eyes just staring at her half-eaten burger. She felt her face redden again. Shaggy wouldn't have heard her if he wasn't sitting right next to her.

"Because, like, they're humans?"

"No… well, maybe a little… but…. But mainly because they're people I don't know… Strangers…" Tanis had a point, since she either lived with her parents or dormed at the school for most of her sheltered life. New people of any kind would be quite an obstacle for a while. "Like, it's ok, Tanis. Sometimes, ya gotta take things one step at a time." Shaggy consoled, giving the adorable mummy a few pats on the head. Tanis gave a shy "eep" and pulled her hood further over her face, her bandages barely hiding her blush.

"I did alright. I think… Is it weird to ask for batteries as a side dish?" If Elsa hadn't been literally built by her parents, Shaggy would've balked at such a question. Nonetheless… "Like, yeah, that's kinda weird around here, Elsa. But if that's the worst that happened, I think you're fine. People are, like, used to jokes." At this point, Elsa began to fidget, her face contorted into a look of embarrassed thinking.

"Well… uhh… The guy I ordered from… He got a good look at my face and I think he liked it. Maybe? He said that if I needed a battery, he'd have a good one I could use. I told him to show me it. I think I caught him off-guard because he then told me that he'd rather show it to me at his home and asked if I wanted to come over… Strange…"

It was Shaggy's turn for his face to turn a bit red for a change. "Uhh, like, I think that guy was trying to get you to have sex with him… Ugh, some people think they can get anywhere using cheap puns and lame pickup lines…"

Sibella then grew indignant, slamming her chopsticks down. "The nerve of him… No better than those Calloway Cadets, I swear. Elsa dear, can you point him out to me? I think I should have a word with this scoundrel." As Shaggy began to calmly protest, Elsa looked over to the Subway she ordered from. Sure enough, there was the same guy, tending to another customer. "That's the one. The guy making the sub. Uhh… What're ya gonna do, 'Bella?"

The vampire stood up, eyes locked on the rather plain-looking male at the sub counter. "Just a talk, nothing more. And don't worry, Coach. I know what I'm doing." she said as she strode past their table and crossed the dining area, approaching her unsuspecting target.

Nate wasn't having the best of days. Not only did both his scheduled coworkers call out on him, but there just had to be a nonstop stream of customers that happened to feel like Subway today. A silver lining to his dreary day would have been that nice girl in that hoodie with her strange sense of humor. She seemed nice and he liked the look of her face. It didn't seem 'stereotypical hot' like some of these fake girls he'd see come up, faces plastered in mountains of makeup… No, this one seemed like a real woman, at least from what the hood had allowed to be shown. Kinda tall too, which he liked. If only she wasn't so covered up as if she was hiding from something.

Even so, he thought he try his luck anyway. Perhaps her joke about ordering batteries was her way of breaking the proverbial ice? In hindsight, it probably wasn't the smartest move to make a dick joke, even if it at first seemed like it went a little too well when she asked him to show her. Then, it occurred to him that his joke might've went a little over her head, that she thought he really had a battery for her. How odd.

His thoughts were interrupted by another customer, this one also wearing a hoodie. Was everyone hiding from something or are hoodies 'in' now? "Hello, may I take your order?"

"Actually, I'm here about a friend of mine." answered the girl. Was it his imagination or was her face…purple? Either way, he had a feeling where this might go.

"A friend?"

"Yes. She claims that you tried to… what's the expression?... 'come onto' her?" Sibella curtly stated, despite her confusion of modern expressions. Nate gulped. Had he really offended her? Did she really sic a girlfriend of hers on him?

"Umm… Well… I guess I did… She seemed like a nice girl and I thought I'd… uhh… put myself out there." His stammering was matched only by his nervousness. Hell did have no fury like a woman scorned, the old adage went. Keeping that in mind, the poor lad didn't bother trying to lie. When you're caught, you're caught.

The purple-faced hoodie girl sighed before speaking again. "Let me tell you something useful, Mr…" She paused to glimpse at his nametag before glaring at him. "Nate… To women, men's privates are like religion or even your 'politics'. It's nice to have and surely fun to partake in, but if you wave it about in public, there's going to be problems." The last part she practically growled as she suddenly leaned in close, scowl and annoyed glare in full effect. This surprised the unfortunate lonely lad, who flinched and stumbled back, colliding with some of the equipment on the back counter which also helped him maintain his balance.

"Alright, look, I'm sorry, ok? I… I say the wrong thing sometimes… I'll stop." Nate said, his hands raised in what he hoped was a placating manner. The girl leaned back to standing normally, remaining silent for a moment. From what she could gather, this youngling was merely awkward instead of the misogynistic pig she initially thought he was. Dealing with the Calloways for a time certainly could leave that impression on young ghouls…

"I accept your apology. Just… think before you say something to a woman." She said, her look softening to a more nonchalant way. She started to turn to leave, but then paused. "By the way, don't worry about what my friend thought. She wasn't offended. Mostly confused. She doesn't hear those kind of lines much. Still, I hope you heed my advice, mortal…" she said before simply walking away, leaving Nate to stare after her. Mortal? She trying to be mysterious or something? Pushing that thought aside, he had a feeling that it would be a very good idea to do as she says.

He couldn't place how he felt so compelled. The feeling was like some sort of instinct, telling him to obey…. Nobody found it strange that, from then on, the young lad suddenly seemed more gentlemanly toward women. Some would call it an improvement…

"I'm surprised you didn't leap over the counter and turn him into a sub sandwich." Winnie bluntly remarked as Sibella sat back down. Clearly, the whole group had been watching, despite not being close enough to hear what was being said.

"There was no need. He was merely socially awkward. The problem should sort itself out anyway. I had a real fang-tastic talk with him." Sibella said, taking on a sly tone as she resumed eating her lunch. The others picked up on the tone and figured that she must've said something particularly frightening. The vampire smiled as she thought about what had just happened.

A tiny little suggestion wouldn't hurt the young man. Just a drop of vampire power, nothing more. Hell, it might help him improve his odds with dating. What's the harm?

It was faint, but there it was. A couple of tiny ripples of power, due northwest, a span of time between the two small bursts. And not just any power… It had to be his daughter's power! If he were still in Transylvania, he wouldn't have been even remotely close to sensing any of her power being used in America, due to sheer distance. But that wasn't the point now.

Dracula was furiously flying in a random direction in his bat form, having left the abandoned campgrounds behind a short time ago. Now he finally had a clue. Sibella was 'getting sloppy', as the mortals might phrase it. It was now a matter of time. With a sharp turn, the Lord of Vampires sped away, thinking of what he would do to his pesky mortal nemesis named Shaggy Rogers…

**Author's Note:** I hate writer's block. I also find it quite bothersome when I have a general idea of a plot, but some of the specifics of said plot idea elude me or I'm undecided as to how to string parts of my story together. Thus, my sluggish pace with some of my stories. For that, I apologize. I truly do. I hope this chapter is as good as the other four have been. Kinda doesn't seem like a lot happened, but I really wanted to keep this story going since there's so little Ghoul School fics here (and even less of GS fics that involve Shaggy hooking up with at least one of the Ghouls. What can I say? I kinda like the irony that Shaggy would fall for a monster girl despite a lifetime of running from monsters, fake and real.)

If anybody has any thoughts or ideas or anything, I always read the reviews I get. I'm beginning to think I'm oversaturating the fic with Sibella/vampire powers (even though I did introduce a Phantasma ability too). Perhaps your suggestion(s) might provide great inspiration!

**Reader Review Replies-**Where thoughts are answered and the points don't matter!

The Keeper Of Worlds – Glad you like Phanty's humor. I hope you like the "special ability" I gave her (and the humor I added with it).

Ryu238 – There's an idea. Human Winnie! I kinda thought that her ability would be changing at will, but she prefers her default werewolf form. Perhaps I'll utilize that thought later.

Redwolf23456 – Thank you. Hope you like the update.

Nightmaster000 – Not a lot happening in this chapter about his love life. Not to say that there's nothing, of course. I figure it'd be best if the girls didn't come on to Shaggy too strong right off the bat, if you know what I mean. (I'm sure Sibella would pardon the bat pun. XD)

Morgana Draco – I haven't given up. My brain just isn't as "On the go! I'm flooded with ideas!" as other fanfic writers. Believe me, as I said at the start of this ending note, I want to keep this one going.


	6. Shop 'Til You Chop

Disclaimer: I own a copy of Fallout 4… Does that count? No? Well, then I don't own anything.

Chapter 6: Shop Til You Chop

Empty plates, cups, and bowls occupied the table of Shaggy and his strange students, who continued to chat amongst themselves while letting their food settle for a moment. As Sibella and Winnie once again managed to get each other into some sort of argument/glaring contest, Shaggy couldn't help but think to himself how similar this group was to an old anime he used to watch back in the day: _Tenchi Muyo_.

The annoyed vampire and werewolf's bickering was beginning to resemble the arguments of wild space pirate/demon, Ryoko, and sophisticated princess, Ayeka. Hell, Sibella even shared Ayeka's tendency for the color purple. Although, Sibella clearly wasn't TOO classy and proper, of course. But she still had the air of nobility about her, notably due to her vampiric heritage. Winnie was…..Winnie. Shaggy and the others (especially Fred) would rather not think about if Winnie became an alcoholic like Ryoko, though… Drunken Werewolf, recipe for mass destruction!

Phantasma seemed to share the same propensity of goofball antics as the anime's ditzy bubblebrain of a cop, Mihoshi. Unlike the tan-skinned blonde, Phanty at least had smarts to fall back on. She just had a strange way of utilizing them, that's all. Least that's what Shaggy preferred to say… Nonetheless, Phanty was pleasant company most of the time.

If only Elsa had the sheer gall to stick her neck out there and show off her scientific abilities, her personality would be a dead-ringer for the anime's resident brainiac, Washu. Alas, she neither had the extreme self-confidence nor the more-extreme pink hair. Even so, there she was, staring at a nearby security camera, probably wondering how she could improve its ability or make a better one. Or maybe she was wondering if the cameras would somehow catch what they look like, despite the hoodies…

Little Tanis seemed to be unable to stop being adorable, even in her teenaged form. Unlike the character that Shaggy's mind brought to mind, Sasami, Tanis didn't seem childlike in the 'loud and energetic' way. But her timidity did make her seem younger than she really was. He also wasn't sure if she cooked or not. Shaggy then thought if most other people have a comparison thought that makes sense at first but breaks down upon further thinking… It's probably happened to almost everyone at some point! Oh well. Another potential train of thought derailed by details.

Besides, it's not like his students were THAT similar to _Tenchi Muyo_. For one thing, they'd have to all have a crush on him! He discounted that factor almost immediately. After all, he was their teacher. He doubted civilized monsters allowed student-teacher relations. Not to mention, he was just a guy who helped out, not to mention, a coward. What lady would dig him? He only had, like, 1 or 2 girlfriends in his entire life and neither worked out too well in the long run. Ones that saw him as a Coach certainly wouldn't like him like that.

No matter if Tanis never seemed to want to leave his side… Or that Sibella always smiled around him and wanted him to tell her of human ways during whatever free time the two had together… Or that Phanty might've been flirting with him with that 'love bullet' line earlier (he couldn't tell, knowing Phanty)… Or that Winnie would occasionally 'bump into' him sometimes in a way that might be construed as similar to how pets show affection, rubbing against their masters (She's too sentient for that, right?)…

How little the poor man knew…

It became readily apparent to Shaggy why plenty of guys dreaded when their girlfriends wanted to take them shopping. It tended to take time in a place where they couldn't be easily entertained. However, despite much argument as to who Shaggy would go shopping with first while the girls split up to wander the mall, the resident foodie of Mystery Inc found one bright side of shopping with women: When they want to model potential outfits to the guy they bring along!

It was (somehow) determined that Sibella and Winnie would both shop with Shaggy accompanying them, neither wanting to let the other get the first crack at spending time with him. He did want to check in with everyone throughout this venture, that part nobody had a problem with. The problem came with the order in which he was going to shop with them, naturally. Ten minutes of bickering later, Shaggy had decided to take Sibella and Winnie (the loudest arguers) at the same time before Mall Security decided to investigate all the racket.

Shopping seemed innocent enough at first. Both put their apparent rivalry aside in favor of exploring what humans decided to call fashion, curiosity at work. Sibella, having been used to what the other ghouls wore and the regal last-century designs of her father's (and some of his more humanoid minions') apparel, was impressed by both the wide variety of styles, options, and new (to her) fashions. But she did have a problem with some of these innovations. Shaggy's face stayed red for a while when she asked why yoga pants were called 'yoga pants' when their primary function seemed to not be for "whatever yoga was", to quote her, but for exposing what a woman's ass looks like without actually exposing it.

Despite the quirky name and purpose, she took a pair to add to her "try on" pile. When in Rome, as they say… It didn't hurt that she figured out a good use for them already.

As for Winnie, the poor werewolf was confounded by some of the more trendy fashions, especially ones that involved things like fur leggings and sleeves. "What're they trying to do? Be like me? Pfft… Good luck with that, mortals. I could help with that the fast way. Just lemme take a bite outta ya!" she huffed at Shaggy, batting at a furry legging of some high-priced pair of pants with a clawed hand. Shaggy had to admit that she had a point. The faux fur was a bit much. He redirected her elsewhere before her annoyance led to the displayed pants being used as a scratching post.

A half hour later, Sibella and Winnie each took a fitting room, with Shaggy sitting on one of the few chairs just outside. He was not expecting what was about to happen. No, he had assumed that they'd look in the mirror, judge the outfits for themselves, and then done. How naïve…

"Shaggy? I'd like your opinion on this, if you don't mind." came Sibella's voice from her little cubicle of a room. It was immediately followed by a "Hey! If he gets to check you out, I want him to check me out too!" from Winnie, resulting in a sigh from the vampire. After a moment, a door opened, revealing… quite a different Sibella. She was silently thankful that the fitting room area was isolated enough for her to not be questioned about her complexion by other customers. She was wearing a black low-cut v-neck graphic tee, the V stretching down enough to reveal some cleavage, but not enough for her to consider it 'slutty'. The shirt had a saying on it: "Stay Classy". But what was surprising were her choice in bottoms: Yoga pants. Purple, of course.

There was no way that Shaggy could NOT notice those legs of hers as she walked out of the fitting room. He wasn't sure if they were the result of the school's gym class regimen or just natural (UNnatural?) vampire genetics. He barely noticed that her long hair was hastily tied up in a loose thick bun, but the reason why became apparent when she shyly turned around…

'I'm her teacher. I'm her teacher. I'm her teacher.' A crimson-faced Shaggy kept mentally reminding himself as he struggled to not ogle the blatant eye candy that was merely a few feet away. 'But she's graduating now. WAS her teacher, you mean.' a part of his mind was quick to remind him. 'But… like, it's still wrong, isn't it?' he thought. 'Buddy, listen. If she, like, didn't want you to look, why'd she even come out here asking your opinion?' his other train of thought countered. A second passed, then two, then three. Nope. No comeback from that logic. Shaggy slowly looked toward her. Yep, Sibella still had her back and ass to him, although she was looking back, as if seeing if he was looking. He detected a hint of a frown upon her profile and wondered if she took his looking away as something else, something bad… Hoping his logic proved true and this wouldn't bite him in the ass later, his eyes drifted down… and hit paydirt.

If yoga pants were meant for a certain kind of body shape, vampire women seemed to fit the bill perfectly, in Shaggy's opinion. At least Sibella anyway, as he had no other vampire women to compare her to… He hated to seem perverted, but for a good 10…20…no, 30 seconds, he could not take his eyes off of Sibella's yoga-pant-covered butt. He, along with so many other guys, perverted or otherwise, had to thank everything decent in the world for the existence of this form of clothing. Giggling snapped him out of it as he noticed Sibella looking at him and turning back around to face him. "Uhh…. Huh? Wha?" He suddenly felt moisture on his chin and discovered that he had been drooling. He blushed, mentally cursing his foolishness.

"I see I made quite the impression." Sibella purred, a satisfied smile on her face. "Simply fang-tastic. This one's a keeper." This did not go unheard by Winnie, who was finally ready to show her outfit to Shaggy. Opening the door, she came out. Glancing over, she noticed Sibella's outfit. "Oh, NOT fair, 'Bella! Using those pants? Cheap shot!"

The vampire rolled her eyes. "And do explain what you're wearing then, Ms. High-And-Mighty." Shaggy looked over and promptly started zoning out again, his face getting even redder. If Sibella's outfit was reasonable, Winnie's was borderline minimalist. Short-shorts and a tube top that ironically said "Bitch" across the front. The top had to be a size too small as it appeared to be slightly squeezing her ample chest, an obviously deliberate ploy to accentuate the fact that she has a big rack… Shaggy could definitely tell that she decided not to wear a bra. As for her shorts, he had to mentally chide himself again as he could see so much of her bare…skin? …Really short fur? Both? Either way, his gaze was fully locked on her legs, thighs, and what the shorts barely covered, Winnie noticed with a smug grin. "Explain? Just look at him. He knows what he likes."

"Hmph… At least your top's right." shot the vampire. The gauntlet had been thrown. The old rivalry between werewolves and vampires seemed to be about to start up yet again. However, as Shaggy would be thankful for, this battle would not result in a bloodbath, death, or even a thrashed store to clean up. No, this had to be settled the way it had abruptly started: fashion one-upsmanship to see who their crush deemed sexier. And so, outfit after outfit after randomly-assembled outfit was tried on, with Shaggy as the judge.

Tank tops, jeans, shorts, formal and casual shirts, vests, boots, shoes, dresses of many kinds, accessories… Shaggy had sat through a lot in the span of two hours as the women 'competed'. In a way, he was quickly getting to know the two young ladies better, in a sense of what they looked good in and what they seemed to be comfortable wearing. For instance, at one point, he could tell Sibella felt completely uncomfortable when she tried on a skin-tight, skimpy dress (if it could even be called that) that barely covered her breasts and was as high up as her then-bare ass. Clearly, this article of clothing was meant for someone like a prostitute or a stripper. Shaggy wasted no time in insisting that she change outfits. No point in dragging out her embarrassment.

The eventuality came up for Shaggy that as time went on, he started to feel a little… 'pent up', one could say. All this constant stimulation, one sexy outfit after another (with a couple of conservative 'casual' outfits sprinkled in for normal around-the-house or in-public wear) with the veiled threat of a catfight… But he endured.

Finally, the two women were worn out, tired of switching clothes and bickering. In the process, they had decided on a small selection of outfits to buy.

"Well, this was fun." Winnie said as she and the other two carried their bags out of the store, the girls back in their hoodie disguises. Despite the 'war', she seemed pretty upbeat. The same could be said about Sibella. "Yes, quite. It was good to update our wardrobes. Feels like we're closer to actually fitting in."

"Yeah. By the way, sorry again about that one rag humans dare to call a dress. I don't know how that got in your pile." Winnie said. The werewolf could recall her own embarrassment when it comes to a few bad appearances. The term 'bad fur day' was never something she used lightly….

"Well, heat of the moment being what it was, dear Winnie…" Sibella snickered, pitying the poor sap that would choose to buy and wear that particular item out in public. "Anyway, I'd say you did alright with what you bought."

"Right back at'cha, Bats." Funny how the two were close to tearing each other apart not too long ago… Such is the bond between the Grimwood Girls.

"Like, I dunno about you two, but I could, like, totally use a long, cold shower right about now…" Shaggy said in an overwhelmed tone, unaware of what he was implying aloud. Thoughts of the delights he had seen kept playing in his mind. Needless to say, a certain 'problem' remained standing, much to his personal embarrassment. 'Getting, like, a hard-on over your students… Like, zoinks, get a hold of yourself!'

Having heard of what guys mean when they say they need a cold shower, Sibella and Winnie blushed a little as smiles grew. Looking toward each other, they both thought the same thing. 'He likes us!'

Hoping that the worst was behind him…or was it the best? His conscience still went back and forth on the issue. Soon after the clothing exhibition, he had left Sibella and Winnie to their girl time to check on his next student. As he probably should have guessed, Elsa was found rummaging through a used electronics shop. One second she's giving one gadget a critical eye, the next she's fidgeting with another to analyze its general function. Even with the hoodie, she would appear to be an oddball to most observers, the way she was browsing. Say, the small store's cashier, for example…

"Like, wha'cha up to, Elsa?" Shaggy asked as he approached the busy golem girl who had just picked up an old Sega Genesis and started to stare at it, moving it around and flipping it upside down. "Well, Coach, I had a few ideas as to how I could fix that bus of ours, but I need a few components." she replied, placing the Genesis back in favor of an old 80's-style brick-sized cell phone.

"Wouldn't you, like, need an auto parts store for that?"

"Our bus' engine stopped being a normal engine long ago. In fact, we got it like that. Not sure who was the last to tinker around with it before us, but I make do every time it needs a fix. Some wires here, scrap metal there, a motherboard somewhere, that sorta thing."

"Huh… I see. I think…" What engine needed a motherboard? As Shaggy pondered that, Elsa put aside the 80's cell phone in a small pile of random tech on a counter, her planned purchases. She then got her hands on a blender, analyzing it. "Besides, you never know what you might need for a project." Elsa added, referring to her knack at creating things every so often.

"That's true." Shaggy said with a wry smile, memories of improvised monster traps during Mystery Inc's numerous adventures coming to mind. He didn't miss having to run from crazed lunatics, but he did appreciate the gang's ingenuity. "Anything else you're looking for?"

"Well, I was thinking of improving myself a little. I am a creation, after all." As rough or depressing as the fact of being a sentient artificial creation might sound to some, Elsa didn't seem to be affected by the idea. It sounded like she was looking forward to the prospect of adjusting her body.

"Like, you can do that? Some sorta, like…. self-surgery?"

"Kinda like that. I do grow and change like a normal human, but I still need the odd adjustment here and there. It's why I've spent so much time learning about the anatomy and engineering, especially after leaving home. If Ms. Grimwood couldn't teach it, I taught myself." Elsa explained with a hint of pride as she looked over a big speaker she found leaned against a wall.

"Wow… That's impressive, Elsa." Shaggy said. No wonder she and Velma got along so easily. Both highly respected intelligence, even if Elsa's was mostly based on necessity. Taking advantage of her not facing Shaggy's direction, Elsa couldn't help but grin at his compliment as she moved on from the speaker to a nearby stereo system. "Um… Thanks, Coach."

Afterward, they fell silent, Elsa inspecting one thing after another while Shaggy curiously looked at her pile of items. Her inspection started to become less critical as a thought started to run through her mind. A minute or so later, she found herself staring at a decent blu-ray player for apparently no reason as the thought kept circling around her mind like a vulture over prey. Mentally facepalming herself, she decided to speak her mind. "Coach? Umm…"

"Like, yeah?"

"Uhh… Just wondering, but… Is there anything about me you'd like….changed?" For a second, it was like Shaggy was conversing with little Tanis, the level of timidity was that similar. When his mind got over Elsa's sudden demeanor, he began thinking. Usually, women asking men that question was merely superficial yet quite loaded, for reasons he could never understand and probably never would. He knew the expected answer, but this wasn't a normal situation. Elsa could literally work on a way to change her body to suit his answer.

"Wha… Like, what brought that on?" he had to ask.

"Well… I'm still thinking about earlier… when that guy was flirting with me. Least I think he was… I've never thought about my appearance much when it comes to guys, but lately… I… uhh…" she trailed off.

"A little self-conscious?"

"That sounds about right…"

"Well… I don't think I, like, have a right answer for your question. Even if I did say something, I don't think it'd be right for you to change yourself to suit people's opinions, because, like, you'll always end up changing yourself and changing yourself and you won't really be you." he said, once again assuming the teacher role.

"Even if someone is a person you like?" she asked, mulling over her coach's words.

"Well… Like, maybe, if you two like each other." His shrug added to the answer's effect of being a relative guess. It wasn't like he was married or had a successful long-term relationship. Just one or two short ones that didn't really go anywhere… Not to mention, how did a man answer that question when his woman could literally perform cosmetic surgery and body adjustments on herself? Would wanting change still be an insult to her current appearance, despite her ability? Shaggy was a gym teacher, not a love guru! It wouldn't stop him from trying to help anyway.

As for Elsa, her coach's answer seemed logical and satisfactory in terms of being good advice. In fact, something about what he said spurred her into action, going with her gut… She wouldn't fully understand why she would do what she did until later, but it felt right. And, logically, right was good.

"I see, Coach." She said as she approached him and picked up her pile of stuff, ready to cash out. She then smiled at him, leaned in a little close, and whispered "So, let me ask you… What would YOU like to see changed?" before walking toward the waiting store clerk.

'Why would she ask me that again? Like, all I said was….. ZOINKS!' he thought, his eyes flying open as he realized the implications of what he had told her. Did all his students seem to have a thing for him?

Soon after, Shaggy and Elsa left the store with a couple of bulky bags of random tech. Elsa pleased with her finds while Shaggy was still lost in thought over the artificial girl's apparent interest in him as well as Sibella and Winnie's attempts to get his attention. He began to wonder if there was more to their graduation wish than just visiting him… When did things get so complicated? He was their teacher, not to mention, a mere human… And wasn't he older than them? Or did monsters have a different view on age gaps or what age is legal? Probably, considering some species' longer life spans…

Deciding to shelf those thoughts for the time being, he bid Elsa farewell as he wanted to check on the rest of the class. The hoodied Frankenteen waved happily after the departing foodie as he walked further into the mall. He wondered who he'd run into next out of the remaining two students…

"Attention, shoppers. Will a Shaggy Rogers please report to the main information desk. Again, will a Mr. Shaggy Rogers please report to the main information desk."

The p.a. system had broadcasted the announcement, having interrupted the droning stream of cheap mall 'muzak'. Shaggy gulped. Having been singled out and summoned to mall employees could mean a few things. Car was left on, they found a lost item, a member of a customer's party was trying to find them, maybe even the odd case where a customer couldn't be reached by someone when there's a personal emergency going on….or the worst case scenario: A member of the customer's party was caught by mall security doing something.

Considering who he still had to check up on, Shaggy groaned and began rushing toward the main entrance where the information desk was relatively located.

Five minutes later, Shaggy was within sight of the desk. He expected to hear the cackling of a certain phantom as she would most certainly try to talk up the people at the desk. But no such thing happened. He noticed that, indeed, there were some mall cops behind the desk with the couple of employees, three cops to be exact. Somebody got caught alright. He noticed a hoodied figure in the back, but couldn't tell which girl it was yet.

He reached the desk. "Like, excuse me, ma'am. I was paged to come up here. I'm, like, Shaggy."

The clerk looked as bored as she felt, giving the lanky man a dead stare. "Yes, well, our patrols seemed to have caught one of your friends here. Strange case, I might say…" she paused as Shaggy gulped again, mentally bracing himself to answer some odd questions. "Come on back. The cops'll take it from here." she instructed, indicating a doorway to the right where he could enter, despite the 'employees only' sign. Sighing, he did so.

However, when he saw the group of cops loosely surrounding the hoodie-wearing girl, Shaggy instantly notice the loosened strands and loops of bandages hanging off of the hood and sleeves that clearly didn't belong to the expected Phantasma. "Like, what seems to be the problem, officers?"

One of them, a young one, spoke up, seeming a little unnerved. "Uhh… Nothing she did, I can assure you. In fact, she seemed to be on the receiving end of some trouble, if our mall's cameras are right. Some punks were picking on her in the game store. At first, seemed like only conversation. Soon it got rough when one of 'em started gettin' a little frisky. Yanked these bandages out from her. She injured or somethin'?"

"Uhh… Like, yeah, you could say that." Shaggy responded nervously, sensing an opportunity for a cover story. Who'd believe that she was a friendly mummy? "It was a bad accident. A lot of her skin, like, got damaged. She has to wear the bandages… Umm, I thought it'd be nice for her to get out of the house after being cooped up for so long with recovery, like, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get'cha. I'd probably be driven batty if I had to be stuck at home 24/7, lemme tell ya. That's a nice thought of ya to do. Too bad some people have to be pricks about it. However, that doesn't explain all that happened…" the cop said, his tone suddenly turning suspicious.

"Like, it doesn't?"

"So, they start pullin' the bandages off, bullyin' her, right? At first, it looked like they were unraveling something. Then it starts looking like they got tangled in them. Half a minute later, they're like calves hogtied at a rodeo. Damnedest thing I've ever seen. How do you tie yourself up by accident?" As he explained this, the answer was obvious to Shaggy. Little Tanis had used her power over her own bandages to deal with her tormentors.

"Like, hell if I know. So, how'd you guys get involved?"

"We got reports of screaming and hollering from there. We came across the scene and it looked like she had tied them up. So we brought them all here. At first, we were going to arrest her because it looked like she had started it, but we checked the tape first. Good thing we did. As we speak, those punks are sittin' in a separate room, awaiting their parents and, most likely, a trip to juvie. The nerve of them to harass an injured girl… That's practically assault."

"Um…" Tanis' timid voice cut in from where she sat. "Mr. Officer, sir? D-d-does this mean I can… go…?"

"Sure thing, little one! No harm, no foul. You're a lucky one for those bullies to somehow tie themselves up!" the cop answered, chuckling. Being a mall cop, he didn't have a ton of action under his belt, so when something unusual like this happened, it had a tendency to be memorable. This was definitely a funny incident to tell his buddies at the bar.

"Umm… Yeah! How, err…. clumsy of them! Ehehehe!" Tanis giggled, nervously playing along with the given human logic. No need to out herself, after all. "I'm gonna go now. Thank you, Mr. Officer." She said as she got up and gathered her loose bandages about her before walking over to Shaggy. "Alright. Let's go, Shaggy!"

"Have a good day, you two." the mall cop said in a friendly tone. That laugh of a crime bust was definitely what the day needed.

Shaggy and Tanis started walking after leaving the information office, although Tanis seemed to be looking around for something. "Like, what's up, Tanis?" Shaggy asked, noticing her odd behavior.

"Shaggy, where's the nearest bathroom? I need somewhere private….." she said, trailing off in what Shaggy guessed as embarrassment.

"Somewhere private? For what?"

"I… kinda need to rebandage myself…"

"Can't your control over them handle it?"

"Most times, yes. But those meanies pulled a good amount of my bandages, too much for my powers to just reel in… I can still make them move around, but… I need to do this manually. And you didn't want our appearance exposed to people… And…. And… umm… I'm… well…" If it was possible for her to shrink, Tanis appeared to have done so, she felt so small.

"Like, what's wrong?"

"I've never shown any part of my flesh to people…. It's like…um… It's like how you humans think about showing your privates in public….." That was new. Shaggy had never thought of it like that when it came to Tanis and her bandages. She had always had them on her whole life (afterlife?), so it would kinda make sense for a mummy to be particularly modest about showing any of the flesh underneath.

"And you can re-bandage yourself?" At Shaggy's question, Tanis froze, as if just realizing something horrible.

"I….." A long pause, Tanis having realized a minor detail she had forgotten. "I always needed help…! I would usually ask one of the girls, but we're all split up here and…. and I need a private place… Soon!" She sounded like a panic attack was beginning to start. Her timid demeanor didn't appear to mix well with her possible exposure…

"Alright, it's ok. Like…" Shaggy looked around. Fortunately, he was standing right by a store with clothes in it. "Ah ha!" It must have a fitting room! Without thinking, he lightly guided Tanis and entered the store, looking for a fitting room.

Had he actually noticed the store's name, he would have turned right around and looked for a different store….

Finding a fitting room was no problem in this strange-looking store, as a pair of them were in plain sight on the right-side wall, toward the front of the store. Thankfully avoiding any questionable looks as to why two people are going in one room, Shaggy and Tanis quickly got in and shut the door, locking it. "Phew… Ok, so… uhh…."

"You want the hoodie off, right…?" Tanis asked, seemingly glum.

"Well… I guess…. I mean, I doubt I can do this with it on…" Shaggy stammered, his face turning red from thinking that he must sound like an idiot. What did he know about what mummies had to deal with? Or what to say to one in this type of situation?

With an oddly-adorable sigh of distress, Tanis let go of the bandages and proceeded to work on taking the hoodie off. At least she could leave her pants on… Her torso's bandages seemed intact enough. As the hem reached the shoulders and she lifted her arms to take it the rest of the way off, he saw the problems…. Her neck was exposed, as was parts of her face and her forearms.

Shaggy knew her skin was a darkish-gray from the slight patches that did show through the bandages, but he noticed that her flesh seemed slightly wrinkled, those two factors seemingly the only signs of post-life decomposition. Other than that, she didn't look like the millennia-old inanimate stiffs that archaeologists usually dealt with in Egypt. Far from it. Whatever supernatural force gave her life seemed to be keeping her body in relatively decent condition, for someone that's technically a walking corpse… That shouldn't have been surprising to Shaggy, however, since she did grow up like the other ghouls since he first met her. No sense in trying to apply too much scientific logic to the undead, he supposed.

Shaggy finally saw a face to match the eyes and mouth that he was familiar with. He had suspected that she wasn't rotting away under the bandages, but he wasn't expecting a face so…. exotic, for lack of a better word. Egyptian features combined with the undead skin tone made for a unique look. Her cheeks were understandably a dark-red with blush, her first time being this exposed to anyone, much less her favorite human.

"Ok, Shaggy… You can start… Just take any bandage and wrap around me like…hmmm….like you would wrap a long strip of bacon around a hot dog!" she said, embarrassed at first, but giggling at the food innuendo she chose to use. Talk about simple enough instructions. Nervously, not wanting to cause the girl any more duress than the situation already had, Shaggy took one of the loose bandages. It turned out to be for her right forearm. Having noticed, Tanis stuck her arm out toward him.

Getting a closer view of the slender forearm, Shaggy was amazed at how well-preserved her flesh seemed. Not wanting to seem like some creeper, he saved his curiosity for later and began gently wrapping. He took things slow and carefully, sure to listen for if she said it was too loose or too tight. First, the right arm. Then, after grabbing another random strand, the left one. Then, her neck, which nearly turned into an awkward moment since, with Shaggy's hands so close to her neck and shoulders, she couldn't help but think of different circumstances… Romantic ones, like the human concept of a massage…

Then came the bandages that went around her face. Her naughty (to her) thoughts intensified as he gently applied the bandages around her face, imagining a scene from one of those human 'sappy chick flicks' (as Shaggy's friend, Fred, had disparagingly called them) when the guy would caress his lady's face while saying sweet nothings.

"Like, are you ok, Tanis? You look like something's bothering you…" Shaggy said, pausing. He had finished her forehead and had just successfully crossed down to her cheeks and nose while leaving room for her eyes to be able to see when he noticed her troubled expression.

"Yeah… umm…. No… Maybe?" she squeaked. Oh, the problems with having a crush while being shy…

"Is it because I've, like, seen your face?"

"Well, kinda… I mean… It's not like I didn't wanna show you. I mean, this IS embarrassing. I mean, because I feel exposed, not because of you! I mean, of course I'd want you to see what I look like… eventually… I mean, as friends. No, good friends. No, best friends! Ah, no!" she stammered, talking faster as she kept flustering.

"So, you're embarrassed but you don't mind me seeing this?" Shaggy asked, trying to guide the poor girl's conversation. Tanis clammed up, but nodded. "Because you consider me a great friend." She nodded but then shook her head. "Yes AND no?" She nodded again. "There's more to this, isn't there? Another nod. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head. "Would you eventually want to tell me what it is?" She fiercely nodded her head, accidentally shaking some of her bandages back loose.

"I'm sorry that this is bothering you so much. Like, I wish I could be more helpful. Usually, what helps me when I have a lot on my mind is a good afternoon pre-dinner snack, but… Hmm… Perhaps you should take some time and think about things and if it's something you think is worth talking about, we can talk later?" he asked, feeling a bit stupid for not having some definitive answer for her. He had no problems admitting that he didn't know a lot of things, but he began hoping that he had the right answer when Tanis did feel like discussing what's bothering her. The next thing he knew, he felt a sudden weight land around him as the short young woman had leapt up and clung to him in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Shaggy… You're always so kind to me, to all of us…" she said, resting her head on his shoulder as she kept the clinging hug going. Surprised, Shaggy managed to wrap his arms around the petite mummy before gravity really started trying to pull her down. "Like, it's nothing. Really. Why wouldn't I be?" He did grow rather fond of his students, but didn't feel like his actions were anything too praise-worthy. He was just being himself.

"It's not nothing… It's a lot more than nothing. Trust me…." Tanis said before doing something that, not the first time today, threw Shaggy for a loop. She turned her head toward his and, nervously, kissed his cheek. She held the kiss for at least 5 seconds, enough for the surprised Shaggy to note that her lips felt nice, if a little chapped… "Most people wouldn't care so much about just a bunch of boarding school ghouls, even a good number of other monsters… Most humans would probably get scared and run away. Some of the braver ones might not have tried to help us when that witch almost got her way. But you were there… You and your faithful dogs."

"We were scared, though… Even today, like, I still kinda run away from evil monsters."

"But you helped us anyway. And you taught us and inspired us when you could've just said no to the whole thing to begin with. And then we hear about your adventures in your letters… How could we not admire that?" she said with a smile, giving one last squeeze before letting go and dropping to her feet on the ground to sit down and await her dear teacher to resume her bandaging.

Fifteen minutes later, Tanis was good as new. It had taken a little time to make sure that her bandages were comfortable and secure, but the mummy certainly wasn't complaining. However, their elation at a job well done soon evaporated when they left the fitting room and Shaggy got a real good look at the store that he had ventured into, specifically the kind of items that were on the shelves, racks, and walls…

It took him a few seconds, of course, but the reality of the situation hit him. Normal store in front, but anywhere past that…. Gag gifts, raunchy t-shirts, niche items, and of course, sexual items of any and all kinds. It just had to be Spencer's Gifts, known for its adult merchandise… Of all the places Shaggy could bring a graduating teenage ghoul…

"Shaggy?" Tanis' meek voice could barely be heard. Shaggy turned to see her examining a packaged item. "Humans have edible… underwear?"

The longer that the Grimwood Ghouls stayed with Shaggy, it was only a matter of time before they would discover the quirks of humanity. A part of the resident coward of Mystery Inc knew that. But he didn't think that he'd ever have to explain about sexual kinks and fetishes. He wasn't even sure if monsters had their own strange tastes in bed. Chances were that they probably did, but still… what to do? Shaggy being lost in his panicked thoughts gave Tanis enough time to wander over and look at other items, squeaking in embarrassment at one in particular.

"Why does a 'dildo' look like a guy's… thing? What's a ball gag for? Fuzzy handcuffs? Are those for werewolves like Winnie? Oh, ew! I'm not sure if I wanna know what a 'butt plug' is for… What kind of things are these? Shaggy? Shaggy….?" Tanis had frantically talked aloud to Shaggy as she perused the different bizarre items until she noticed her coach just standing there, looking as though some evil entity had confronted him….and decided to flash him, judging from the red on his face…

"Uhh… Like, this is going to be hard for me to explain…"

A series of incredibly awkward explanations failed to help Tanis understand why humans had to have sexual quirks as bizarre as monster traits might seem to humans, not that the mummy was any expert about sexual behavior, of course. In the end, both Shaggy and Tanis left Spencer's with the slow haunted gait that could only be rivaled by a college 'Walk of Shame', Shaggy for having to explain such things to someone so… inexperienced, Tanis for learning more than what she wanted about human desires. Her mind began to wander again, this time wondering if Shaggy would eventually want to perform such strange activities with her if she were to somehow get him to date her.

Despite the mutual embarrassment, Shaggy led Tanis down a random direction, thinking that a different store might get their minds off of the abrupt Sex Ed lesson. They ended up wandering into a Best Buy. The size of the entertainment and tech store amazed Tanis, as did the aisles of different stuff. As they explored, the duo began hearing a familiar cackling around the one aisle dedicated to music CDs. They both should've known.

Looking down the aisle, they saw the covered-up ghost wearing headphones that were linked to a little console where music CDs could be sampled. She seemed to be enjoying what she was trying out, her head bobbing back and forth while her shrill laughter could occasionally be heard.

"Like, I'm surprised a store even still has that kinda thing. Everybody's going toward digital forms of music, rather than CDs." Shaggy commented as they approached the ghost. Phantasma was focused on listening, her friends' approach going undetected. "Hey, Phanty." Shaggy greeted, only to be met with more giggling and the occasional humming of a tune. "Phanty?" he tried again. Still nothing. The former gym teacher decided to poke her (or rather, her hoody) on the shoulder.

His action surprised the ghost girl to the point of shrieking loudly, her shock causing the load of bullets from earlier to fall out of her dress, as well as a couple of other items she happened to be hiding with her ability, such as her diary... The good news was that nobody else was directly in the vicinity of the CD aisle that could easily see the pile of mostly illegal contraband upon looking in the direction of the shriek. The bad news was that people did turn toward the trio, wondering what happened and/or muttering requests that they keep quiet.

"Like… Sorry." Shaggy said, beginning to wonder when karma's constant stream of embarrassment would end. Phantasma squatted down over the discarded pile of ammo and personal items and immediately started stuffing them back up. "Oh, yikes! My stuff! Hold on a minute, just gotta regain my bearings." Phanty quietly stammered, flustered as her hands quickly grabbed one pack of bullets after another. The things she did for souvenirs. Shaggy immediately stood by her, guiding Tanis to Phanty's other side so that their bodies sort of blocked any passing shoppers' view of what it was that the ghost girl was scrambling after. The group didn't need any more encounters with mall security today.

A couple of tense minutes later, Phanty stood back up, having successfully hid the last item up her dress. "Remind me to unload myself later, Coach." she remarked with a cheeky grin, cheerful as if nothing had happened. "I get kinda forgetful about that sometimes." Her comment was met with a look from Tanis that said a sarcastic 'Oh, gee, really?'. Shaggy, however, decided to just give an 'okay' before moving on.

"So, like, uhh… Find any good music, Phanty?"

Phanty's grin widened with excitement. "Oh, did I! I found a bit of everything. Good music, bad music, even music that doesn't even sound like music but apparently counts as music anyway! I think that one was called 'dub-step' or something. Definitely doesn't sound like music-music but it does have a beat. I kinda like it. Not sure if I can play it, though. Sounds like machines… But I like some human music! Can I get some of these… uh…" she paused to look at one of the sales rack's signs. "…CDs?"

"Like, sure. We could add them to your music player." Shaggy said, suddenly flashing back to a memory when the gang as kids listened to music on a boombox on a playground (before, inevitably, Red Herring interrupted with some sort of bullying). "Got a few you really like? We, like, can't buy out the whole store." he asked, chuckling at his own joke. Phanty cackled along and nodded.

"Heheh… Thanks, Coach! You're a real inspiration, ya know." the ghost said as she rifled through her pile of gathered CDs to decide what were keepers.

"Like, thanks. Seems like I've been hearing that kind of thing all day." he couldn't help but comment. Tanis, remembering her own conversation with Shaggy, fidgeted. The ghost girl stared at Shaggy for a moment before giggling.

"Ah, the others. I see… So it begins."

"Like, what?"

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about, dear Coach. Perhaps some entertainment. Ooh, the thought of what might happen is enough for me to try to write a new song!" Phanty gushed in anticipation, barely containing the urge to start flying.

Shaggy groaned. He somehow didn't have a good feeling about her cryptic answer. Sure, he didn't think anything harmful would happen and he could tell Phantasma wasn't implying anything negative. She does get a bit hyper, but she'd never wish harm on her friends. Besides, it's just the Grimwood Girls and, today, they all seemed to be showing their appreciation of what he's done for them. What foul misfortune could result from that? Couldn't be much. There just couldn't be.

Phantasma noticed Shaggy sulking after his audible groan. "Aww… Don't tell me you think we're up to something. Do you think we're up to something? Cause I don't. If we were really up to something, I wouldn't have even said anything. Well… unless you get me on a sugar rush, of course. Then, ya might get me to slip and say something. But that's neither here or there! Relax, Coach. You don't have a thing to worry about. Besides, I'm sure you'll figure it out. I hear that most guys are clueless about some things, but I doubt you're one of 'em."

Shaggy scratched his head, not sure what to make of that. Technically, that wasn't true… He still had his one suspicion from earlier. He couldn't deny that the girls are highly likable. Nor could he deny that he did find Sibella and Winnie very attractive, Tanis and Phantasma cute, and Elsa… well…. he strongly admired her inner beauty. Even so, his moral conscience was still voicing its disapproval, again reminding him of his occupational relation to them, not to mention the fact that all five girls are younger than him (at least, the monster equivalent of ages younger than him). But that moral side was faced with a question: Is it really so wrong from the Ghouls' perspective? If it was any consolation, at least they were out of high school now…

And he also had to admit to himself that it felt rather nice to be wanted… Not that he felt too pressured by the sting of loneliness, as he had his friends and his love of food, but still, the idea of a relationship that might go longer than a couple of months did seem appealing.

As Shaggy led Tanis and Phantasma to the cashier area to purchase the ghost's new music, he mentally vowed to himself that he was going to give the matter some serious thought. Perhaps during his usual midnight snack. A giant sandwich always did go well with thinking…

A night later, a certain Vampire Lord had found himself amongst civilization. But unfortunately for Dracula, the city he had happened across just happened to be having its own problems. Most notably, the absurd amount of demons that have appeared to be swarming about. Grim Reaper-looking freaks that appeared to be made of sand, possessed mannequins armed with blades and old-style firearms, human-sized living Gothic chess pieces, little gargoyles that looked like they were made of blood, armored lizard-men, and more of the unholy sort not only ran amok over this section of city, but seemed to have him surrounded.

Even Dracula could be successfully ambushed, at least once a century. He had been flying through the city streets as he was passing through the city on his path toward where he last sensed his daughter's power, a small part of him curious as to why he didn't sense much human life around. Given the lived-in appearance of the city, he should have known that the place wasn't a long-abandoned ghost town. Not by choice, anyway. He was at least prepared for battle when he felt a rise of dark power seconds before the first of the demonic horde appeared by phasing out of a nearby wall.

Dispatching another reaper-wannabe with another fireball, the annoyed Dark Lord intercepted a dive-bombing blood-gargoyle by grabbing it by its beak and used its momentum to turn around and toss it toward a gun-toting marionette like a giant dart. A demented-looking knight chess piece made its presence known by rearing its horned horse head and tried to headbutt Dracula horn first. The vampire turned to mist just in time and reformed himself behind the animated stone statue, grabbed it by the back of the head, and wrenched the head off of it.

"Can't a vampire travel in peace vithout being accosted by scoundrels?" Dracula asked aloud as he stabbed one of the lizard-men with the bladed horn of the stone head, sending the reptilian demon tumbling backward. When the fight started, he had attempted to unleash his controlling aura upon the horde of inhumanity like he had done with the hockey-masked hooligan before, but found that none would obey him. Perhaps this lot was already bound to a dark master of their own… Someone stronger…?

As he continued venting his annoyance physically upon the horde, the sounds of swordplay and gunfire started to be heard from a distance, not going unnoticed by the vampire. Perhaps a human or two had gotten involved. No matter. Although he could always use a snack when this was done….

A minute or so more of fighting later, Dracula had come face to sandy face with a bigger version of the reaper-clones. Swaddled in a large, hooded, flowing black robe and carrying a scythe with a glowing purple blade, this one made Dracula ponder if this was the leader of the bunch. It certainly had the size advantage and a few of the others seemed to give it a decent berth. Howling its high-pitched wail of a battle cry, the giant reaper raised its scythe. Pathetic display, the vampire king thought, a counterattack in mind.

But before the scythe lowered, the hulk of a reaper was suddenly overcome by a couple of tossed bodies barreling into it, the bloody corpses of a pair of the lizardmen bringing the reaper to the ground. Ignoring the scrabbling reaper leader, Dracula gazed to where the flung corpses had come from. Halfway down the block, demonic minion after minion fell to a pair of mere humans. One seemed to be relatively fast, moving from one target to another in a blaze of red and the rapid slashes of a sword, the color being on account of the obviously-custom-made red trenchcoat he wore. The other human was clearly female. Average height, brunette, nothing particularly special from where Dracula stood. Well, unless you count the sub-machine guns and the giant custom-built rocket launcher…

A part of Dracula's mind arrogantly grumbled that at least he wasn't alone in suffering this loathsome annoyance of a battle as he dismissively dispatched the rising reaper leader with a couple of power-infused palm strikes to its face, crumbling the unholy being's head to mere sand like the other reaper wannabes, the scythe shattering, the robe fading away as if caught on fire and rapidly burning.

The rest of the battle seemed academic enough after the reaper commander fell. At least until the point where the last pawn fell and the white-haired redcoat noticed a third humanoid presence had been fighting its way toward them. He pointed his sword at Dracula. "Hey, buddy. Some night, huh? People can't go for a nice walk without being mugged anymore." he said in a tone that reeked of cocky confidence.

Annoyed by having a sword pointed at him, Dracula steeled himself for another possible fight. Perhaps he'd get that snack after all… "Yes. That vould seem to be true…"

The swordsman raised an eyebrow. "Huh… A bit early for Halloween, man? That accent and the way you look. I guess Dracula's a classic choice of costume." the man said with an amused smirk, lowering his sword.

"Although, I am glad that the name is still quite common knowledge among mortals, vat do you mean by 'costume'? I am Dracula." the vampire said with a glare and crossed arms. What was this mortal doing? Mocking him? As if to confirm his suspicions, the mortal smirked. "I dunno. I would've thought that Dracula himself would've been, ya know… a bit more regal or somethin'. But here ya are, slumming it where demons can attack at any moment." he mused, almost sarcastically.

"You think I vould just have my pawns do all the work? Not this time. I vas merely passing through. Unlike you, I have some business to attend to." Dracula had forgotten how long it was since the last time he encountered someone so annoying.

This seemed to cause the white-haired man to tense, tightening his grip on his formidable sword. "Yeah? What kind of business? If it's hunting for human prey, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Dracula's eyes narrowed, realizing a standoff when he saw one. "Some local hero, I presume? No matter. It is not blood I am after. Perhaps you could be of assistance, if you know this land vell."

The young woman aimed her rocket launcher at Dracula, clearly not trusting him. "Whatever he wants, I wouldn't answer, Dante. If he is who he says he is, it's trouble." This caused Dante to chuckle and Dracula to scoff at her rudeness. "Oh, I've no doubt about who he is. It'd take someone powerful to dispatch high-ranking demons like they were nothing. So… What's your question, Drac?"

"That's Dracula to you, swordsman…" It bothered Dracula to ask such an oaf for directions. But it couldn't be helped… "I am looking for someone. Part of a group, actually. Do you happen to know of a paranormal detective agency called Mystery Inc?"

Dante and the woman took a moment to think. "Not around here, anyway. The only agency in this town that deals with the supernatural is mine." Dante answered, causing Dracula to raise an eyebrow. This clown? Running a business? Humans must be desperate…

"I have heard of them, though. Just bits and pieces. Always chasing after monsters, but most of the time, it's just humans in disguise." the woman chimed in.

"Now why can't we ever stumble upon that? Slapping around some pretender for a change sounds like a vacation to me." Dante said with a snicker. "Say, how did you hear of this group, Lady?"

"Believe it or not, the tabloids. You know how some of those crappy dirt sheets have crazy stories about paranormal activity? That's one way I find work to do when I choose to be away from your sorry ass. About half of those stories turn out to be demon activity."

"And here I thought those things were useless…" the mortal joked with a carefree shrug of his shoulders. Dracula reached his limit. "Enough of this prattle. Woman, tell me the location of this agency. Now."

"Eaaasy, batsy. For one thing, her name's Lady, not Woman. I would've thought a classy being like yourself would find that name up your alley. Ya know, 'lords and ladies' and all that haughty stuff." Dante interjected, that damnable smirk reappearing. Did this jester have a line for everything?

"Besides, who said I'd help you? All I said was that I've heard of them." Lady said, full of disdain as she kept her weapon's aim squarely on the vampire.

"Yeah, man. What's in it for us?" Dante added. The white-haired hero wasn't much for chess, but he knew a metaphorical upper hand when he saw one.

"VAT?!"

"You heard me. Running an agency of any kind isn't cheap and you just happen to be the King of Vampires, if the legend is true. A castle, vast amount of riches from your centuries of living… Yeah, you're loaded, we're not, you're asking for help, and we're agents for hire. Whaddya say, Drac? We got a deal?" Dante offered in a smug tone. Lady looked at him with an expression that read 'Are we really going to help this guy?' but otherwise said nothing. Seeing the vampire king squirm a little was a little priceless, after all.

'Of all the despicable, demeaning, pathetic things…! Beggars, the both of them! How dare they try to pilfer wealth from ME!' Dracula's mind raced in rage. That was it. No petty swordsman was going to get one over on Lord Dracula and get away with it. With a vicious flourish of his cape, Dracula was about to charge the inane buffoon when he suddenly had a sword pointed inches from his face. Dante had moved in close and drew his blade, skillfully positioning it thus without striking him as a show that he could've struck him.

"I'd reconsider that…" Dante lazily remarked. Dracula glared before his body became nothing more than a silhouette that dispersed into a massive flock of bats that swarmed around and past Dante and then Lady, the many wings managing to divert their attention enough that, when the bats stopped flying by, Lady was taken by surprise when Dracula's arm wrapped around her neck in a quick sleeper hold.

"I'd say the same to you, money-pilfering lout. Now, you vill give me vat humans call a 'free sample' of your services. Or else I vill have this girl as a snack! How you say... Capiche?" Dracula demanded, spittle landing on Lady's head as he vented his frustration. While his grip wasn't choking her, it was nonetheless firm enough to be directly unbreakable. Even so, she had a plan. Lowering her arms which still held her weapon, she went one-handed with her rocket launcher, the bulky weapon succumbing to gravity. When it was pointed downward, she quickly jammed it downward with the hand still holding the weapon.

The oddity of this particular launcher was that it had a bayonet blade on its front, one that looked like it was a machete blade. Fortunately for Lady, the blade found its mark: Dracula's foot. The grip turned almost nonexistent as Dracula screamed in pain. Separating herself from the vampire, Lady dislodged her weapon from him and aimed as Dante drew his twin pistols.

"The only snack and 'free sample' you're getting will be our explosives and lead." Lady spat as Dracula spent a few moments hobbling in place, clutching his wounded foot. The pain would subside unnaturally quick, of course, but that didn't mean it hurt less than it would a human.

Dante chuckled. "You really should've taken our deal. Now you've gone and forced us to work more. We could've talked, you could've been on your way, I could've been off getting that sweet ride I've had my eye on for a while…" Lady rolled her eyes as he said that particular part. "But you really should've tried to choke me. I would've tried negotiating just one more time, since I sense you're an impatient guy. Lady, however… Well, she never was one for men being grabby."

"A lesson you sometimes forget…" muttered Lady in a menacing tone.

"Can't blame a guy for trying, babe." Dante replied, almost comically. Lady growled, but kept her aim and glare at the opposing vampire. "So, Dracky, whaddya say we all throw some fists and rock this place? Either that, or just keep flying. Your choice." He offered, getting himself into a loose fighting stance. His brash behavior shown itself again when he raised a palm to do a 'c'mon, bring it' hand gesture.

It was then that Dracula's senses finally had a lock on what was unusual about this cocksure swordsman in red. He was demonic in nature. At least half-demon, given his human appearance. A powerful half-breed at that, tending to hide most of his power in his human shell unless it was called upon. If Dracula had the time and the curiosity, he would've pondered the questions this brought up, like 'Why was he fighting full demons?' and 'Why would a full-human knowingly partner with such a creature?'. Business, however, tended to be more of a priority. Not to mention, he just didn't like the red piece of human excrement enough to really care.

It seemed he was going to have to get his information by force…

Around 20 minutes since the vampire and the half-demon talked themselves into a fight, a sizable bat could be seen flying out of the city if one looked into the night sky close enough. However, if anybody had witnessed this bat leaving, they would notice the slow and erratic way it was flying… This was due to the fact that, to put it directly, Dracula almost had his ass handed to him by that impudent, cocky, self-servient half-demon bastard. (Of course, the King of Vampires had many more disparaging terms to apply to Dante, but time is of the essence.)

So he didn't exactly get the exact information he wanted. At the very least, Dracula had managed to rough up the immature mercenary right back. He didn't get to be the master of vampire-kind just from stealth and blood-sucking alone. It was also good to know when the best time was to implement a strategic exit. Not that he was a coward or anything. It was just common sense when the enemy was also powerful in his own right and had a chance to gain an upper hand. Not this night, no. Especially when Dracula had a daughter to find.

Mulling over his dwindling options as he flapped his bruised and battered wings, Dracula came to realize that he did have one chance to locate his daughter. But that chance came with a price, one that he would rather not pay. In the end, he would have to swallow his pride and do what a father had to do. He would delve into the depths of human stupidity, traverse the maze of mortal manifestations, and navigate through the wastes of obscurity!

In other words, the Vampire Lord had some tabloids to read…

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Whew… What a chapter! Took me a while, as it seems to usually do. Hmm… Not sure that I did a good job, as I've never done a "harem-style" fic before (as this story seems to have taken the direction toward…). Kinda funny that I've seen/read plenty of harem anime/manga (Tenchi Muyo, Love Hina, Rosario+Vampire, Monster Musume, among a couple others) but trying to emulate the comedic stylings of it is still kinda tricky. Seeing and doing, two different things…

Which brings me to my next point… Ideas! It would be nice to hear some suggestions as to what Shaggy, Mystery Inc, and The Ghouls could do in my fic before the inevitable confrontation between Dracula and Shaggy. Another activity? Somebody doing something that starts some chain of events? The Ghouls making more moves on Shaggy? Lol. Seriously, some good suggestions might help stoke the creative fires here. I was thinking of one more chapter before Drac finally finds Coolsville and things go down. So please leave some reviews!

That being said… **Review Replies!**

Scoobycool9 and LuckycoolHawk9 (all one user name) – Thanks for the info and compliments! Unfortunately, I've not seen some of the more-recent Scooby-Doo shows/TV movies/what-have-you. So, I didn't know about Mystery Inc meeting Dracula before and I don't know the Goblin King character. My apologies. As for Matches and Scrappy, I might find a way to work the little dragon in somehow. Scrappy, though… I kinda agree with those that tended to think of him as a "garbage character", but at the same time, I'd like to find a logical and respectable reason why he isn't there (instead of some cliché like "he died" or "he lives elsewhere"). It just hasn't hit me yet. Also, my apologies for Mystery Inc once again not being in a chapter… But they'll return next time. And finally, Sibella will have PLENTY to say to Dracula once she finds out about the werewolf curse incident, that's for sure!

Dark Goddess2000 – You're welcome and thanks for enjoying it so much! I hope this chapter still maintains its quality, as I do worry about "jumping the ol' shark" sometimes. Like I said, this chapter will be the first time I've tried harem-anime elements. I really hope I did Shaggy justice here, since he usually lusts after food a lot more than women, but at the same time, he is a healthy young man after all, if ya get my drift. Lol.

That ManX – Yeah, far too few Ghoul School fics! It's ludicrous. Anyways, I admit I'd find it quite difficult to pick one Ghoul to date. Lol! I'm not sure about changing Shaggy anyway. One bridge at a time, I suppose. Keeping him human might be a good move creatively. I've already seen one fic where Sibella changes him and I've seen one Shaggy/Winnie fic (probably the only one) where Shaggy couldn't break the Werewolf curse. Eh, we'll see. As for the Ghouls' powers, it was kinda hard not to use Sibella first with that. She kinda seems like the "head girl" of the team…

The Scottish Hippie – Lol. At least the Calloways were briefly mentioned, even though it was kinda negatively ("Perverts!" Sibella groused.). Thanks for the compliments. Not often someone praised me for intelligence. As for Jason Voorhees, I thought it'd be fun to see a horror icon clash with another horror icon. A little twist in Dracula's journey, ya know? Speaking of which, I hope you liked Dracula's second forced "pit stop"…

The Keeper of Worlds – Thanks! Glad ya like the story. Hmm… Nice suggestions, but I do hope you liked what I chose for his next encounter (Dante and Lady from the Devil May Cry video game franchise). Hmm… What next for ol' Bats…?

Prototron MJ Tornada – Oh, Sibella will do something alright… Hehehe…

Kellybug – That'd be the plan, pretty much. Lol. And of course Winnie would cuss that much when playing online video games. Anything less would be…well… uncivilized! XD


	7. Deep Thoughts, Deeper Trouble

Disclaimer: We all know the drill. Don't own anything. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Chapter 7: Deep Thoughts, Deeper Trouble

Midnight. A time where a good number of people would be asleep or working night shifts on their jobs. However, a certain mystery-solving beatnik was busy doing neither of those things. Instead, he was lazily munching on a pizza he had ordered earlier ("Like, everything on it, hold the anchovies, replace it with more of everything."). The unusual aspect of this was the fact that he was eating slowly, taking his time, and savoring the flavor. To his friends that made up Mystery Inc, that could only mean one thing.

Shaggy was in deep thought about something.

A lot of times, such deep thinking would be about food or perhaps his friends if something was bothering them. But this was one of the few times when his train of thought decided to take a mental path less traveled. The way of thinking was intentional, as Shaggy had promised himself earlier to take some time to think about the revelations of the mall trip with the Ghouls.

It wasn't too long before his imagination decided to take control of the train of thought. And thus, the following images…

Sibella, her back facing him, bent over, wearing those purple yoga pants she had purchased… and nothing more. Her long hair craftily covering her perky breasts as a way of teasing him. "Come on, my dear Coach. I know you love it when I wear this." her sultry voice purred as she moved her unnaturally perfect ass back and forth enticingly. "Care for a bite, Shaggy? I bat you've been simply craving this for a while now." She turned around, her hands going toward her curtains of hair covering her chest. "Do you consider yourself worthy of having me 'sheathe your stake', good sir?" She then chuckled darkly. "Oh, only you would make me jest so lightly about one of my kind's weaknesses…"

The image changed to a leashed Winnie, wearing the "bitch" tank top and the way-too-short shorts. "For once, you're taking ME for a walk, Coach. Nah, let's make it a run." she said as she approached Shaggy and wrapped her arms around him, giving him the other end of the leash. "This leash is yours and only yours, my mate. Werewolves like myself love a good…workout… Make me sweat, won't you?" She said with a glint of what Shaggy could guess as lust in her eyes.

Before Shaggy could protest about Winnie's apparent fetish, his imagination warped again. Next came Elsa, her patchwork body clad in nothing but a bra and panties and holding a wrench and scalpel in her hands. "Heya, Coach. Did you think about what I could change? I could make my chest bigger…" With a wave of her wrench across her chest, her boobs suddenly expanded to what had to be double-D's. "Or perhaps you like a nice butt. Are you an ass man?" Waving her scalpel like another magic wand, her firm butt grew plump, soft, and nicely round. "Or maybe not." With another wave, she went back to normal. "Perhaps you're a leg man…" she seemed to grow slightly, but the major change was her legs, which grew longer and more defined. "Or is it my face? Is there too much of my dad in me? Oh, no matter…" More 'magic wand' work and her head changed. Her hair was let down and turned into a flowing, curvy style while her face resembled that of a familiar supermodel. "My body can be yours to command, my Shaggy…"

As Shaggy began to stammer in an attempt to correct Elsa about their discussion in the mall, Elsa disappeared. As Shaggy waited for his imagination to send out the next girl, he felt the feather-light touches of something wrapping around his wrists and ankles, keeping him in place. "Zoinks!" he yelped as what he determined to be Tanis' bandages secured him in place. The height-challenged Egyptian herself then appeared before Shaggy, her bandages slowly unraveling from her body, arms and legs first.

"C-c-coach… I want to show you something…" she said timidly, as her bandages kept falling to the ground, exposing more of her flesh. "Please take a look… before I lose my nerve…" In a matter of moments, her arms and legs were bare and her head was next. "Won't you look? Y-you're the first one that'll ever see me like this…" Her face was revealed to him, the expression on it a cross between fear and hope. The bandages around her chest started to undo themselves. At this point, Shaggy was fighting the urge to look upon her AND the 'You're her teacher' logic of looking away.

Her b-cup chest was exposed. Even as his mind's best guess of what they would look like, they were cute. Before he could think of settling on the idea of staring, the only bandages left began to unravel. Tanis blushed. "Y-y-you'll be the only one I want to see this. I hope you can guess why… I'd say it, but it's hard enough for me to do this…" she almost whispered as, bunched up collectively, the last of her bandages dropped like panties.

Funny how right then was the moment when his imagination decided that her time was up…

Unrestrained again, Shaggy didn't have to wait long as Phantasma was suddenly in Shaggy's face. "HI, COACH!" Shaggy jumped back with another cry of "Zoinks!", causing Phanty to giggle. "You're so HOT when you get scared! Anyone ever tell you that? No? Well, I guess that would be a strange thing to tell someone. Almost kinda serial-killer-y… Ha, that's not even a word… But lemme tell ya what I want, Shags. Can I call you Shags? Who am I kidding? Of course, I'm gonna call ya Shags! Whatever, listen… I want that love bullet of yours. And I know that you know that I know that we both know what I mean by that. And what I mean is that I want you. All of you. Not just your 'bullet'. Although, that part will be fun, from all I hear." At this point, Phantasma had gotten so close to Shaggy, they were face to face, eyes to eyes, forehead-on-forehead (Phanty had decided to go solid).

"So, uhh… umm…" Phanty then trailed off, a rare occurrence that surprised Shaggy. "Umm… Wanna be mine?"

It was the fact that she asked it in such an off-hand question and as shyly as Tanis that threw off Shaggy more than the proposition itself. It almost seemed like Phanty was scared of rejection. The foodie suddenly felt a pleasant chill as the still-too-close ghost wrapped her arms around him, a nervous look actually cracking her usual grinning visage. "Please? I know I'm... kooky… and hyper… and my mouth is faster than my brain… Winnie likes spankings! See? Didn't think that time… I like spankings too. Do you like to spank? Ah! Focus, me! Argh… Sigh… Please let me have a chance…" she then begged as she subconsciously leaned her mouth closer to his. Shaggy noticed this. He could've stopped it. A part of him thought he should have.

But a man could only take so much… All these girls, no… young women! So much temptation… He leaned in.

Strange… For a ghost, her lips felt rather… greasy? And she tasted like tomato sauce… Wait a minute…..

It was then that Shaggy realized that he had fallen asleep in his thinking and was making out with the half-eaten slice of pizza he was eating before his apparent hibernation.

"Huh?! Wha? I….. Umm…." He glanced at the pizza and then around the room as he gathered his bearings. The first thing he needs to do is face the fact that his students/friends apparently have crushes on him. The other first thing he needs to do is sleep, because that would the last time he would sleep-kiss a pizza (no matter how tasty the pizza).

The next morning seemed about as normal as things had become with the Mystery Inc apartment building's new 'tenants' around. Daphne had apparently gotten used to Phantasma always appearing during her morning shower for some girl talk. The redhead was still thankful that the blue ghost had the decency to keep her dress on and just be transparent in the shower. She wasn't that ready for the full "girls locker room group shower" experience. Although, she did have a suspicion that Phanty might have wanted that as an ulterior motive for their girl talks… She had noticed the ghost's eyes wander downward at the human's body at moments. For all she knew, the ghost might have just been curious about the human body or nostalgic to when she was actually alive. But the erratic ghost was just eccentric enough for Daphne to consider the possibility of lustful intentions.

At least, until this particular morning talk…somewhat.

"…and so Shaggy bought me some CDs! Ain't he sweet? Has he always been that nice? I think so. He was nice when he was at our school. But you know that already…" Phanty was gossiping.

"Well, yeah, Shaggy's always been a good guy. He's not the brightest bulb and, personally…" she leaned in as to whisper something conspiratory. "I'm surprised he isn't a 500 pound blob with the way he eats!" Both women giggled, Phanty's sounding louder and shrill as always. "But he's somewhat level-headed. Well, when he isn't scared of evil monsters, of course."

"But he gets over his fears when ya feed him, right?" Phanty asked, remembering a quirk that was mentioned in one of Shaggy's letters when he was talking about the gang's adventures.

"They do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! Same with dogs, apparently." Daphne snickered, unable to forget the countless times that she and Velma had to bribe the two bottomless stomachs that were Shaggy and Scooby with the gang's patented Scooby Snacks to get them to do anything courageous.

"Hmm… Maybe that's how I'll get him! Home cooking!" Phantasma decided, slapping a fist to a palm in a sort of 'decision made' gesture.

"Umm… Get him?" Daphne asked, wondering if she should be cautious.

"Eep! Said too much… But… Maybe you and I could share a secret. Well, maybe it's not a big secret… I mean, it's not like it's that well-hidden. But… I like him…"

"What? Like him? Romantically?" Phanty nodded. "He was your teacher. And he's older than you. Isn't that kinda… wrong?" Daphne asked as she began washing the shampoo out of her hair.

"Not so much for monsters, really. My dad alone has heard of plenty of cases where a monster teacher and a monster student have taken to each other over the years and decided to get together. I figure it's something to do with different life spans and particular monster mating habits or something." Phanty shrugged for added effect. "There's even been a rare instance or two of a monster falling for a human. Not just teacher/student, but in general. One famously didn't work out because the human didn't exactly… uh… share the monster's feelings… Ya know, because of fear… That incident became a tragic legend among monster-kind…" she trailed off.

Daphne could only nod. That part was understandable. She had her doubts about accepting the advances of some horny demon or goblin or whatever was out there and not just because she was already with Fred. Still, from getting to know the Grimwood Ghouls better, she could sympathize a little with Phanty's statement. Most humans weren't as open-minded as Mystery Inc, after all.

"But some worked out, with a little time, effort, and understanding. That's what we're hoping for."

"We?"

"EEP! I did it again! Uggh…! I need to stop myself sometimes…" Her face scrunched up into a look of annoyed disappointment. Daphne reached a hand as to put it on her shoulder, only for it to pass through. She had momentarily forgotten about the ghost's current intangibility. Phanty felt the hand nonetheless and recognized it as a sympathetic gesture…

"It's ok, Phantasma. You're just… um… being you. Nothing wrong with that." the redhead said in a chipper tone as she took a bottle of body soap and squeezed a glob of it into an open palm. It was then that Daphne felt a bond forming with the ditzy ghost. It may have been due to her own experiences as 'Danger-Prone Daphne'.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess. Umm… Ok, so… You promise not to tell your friends what I'm gonna say? My secret wasn't a big one, but this one's a BIG one… Ya know, BIG-big…" she explained in a quiet voice, so opposite of her usual boisterous self. Daphne couldn't refuse her new friend, even if Phanty still did prefer to accompany Daphne in the shower…

"Well, I don't think we'd react as badly as you might think, but… alright. I won't tell. Promise."

"SWEET! Ah, I mean… Yeah, sweet. Thank you!" The excitable ghost then became tangible and hugged the naked, soapy, wet Daphne, the redhead suddenly VERY thankful that the ghost's dress was still on. "Alright, so get a load of this. I'm not the only one that likes our dear Coach. Actually…" she leaned her head close to Daphne's so that her mouth was next to one of her ears. "We all really like him…"

Daphne had suspected as much. There were plenty of what she had thought were subtle hints she had witnessed among Shaggy's interactions with the Ghouls. She wasn't sure, but there seemed to be something. But now she had confirmation, which was still a little surprising.

"ALL of you?" Daphne managed to calmly squirm her way out of the clingy spirit's grasp and resume lathering the soap along her body.

At this, Phanty became the excitable gossip again. "Yup! It was obvious to me. I mean, we even joked around about it as time passed and more of his letters came. He may not have known it when he wrote them, but the more he talked about what he's been up to, the more we liked him. At least, the more Sibella and Winnie made it obvious anyway. I personally think we all want him, not just those two. I think he'd be a fun hubby to play with. I'm not sure if Tanis sees him as a lover or a big brother. Maybe both? And maybe Elsa might just want someone to experiment on. Oh, don't give me that look! I know Elsa. Not painful experiments. Just some things she would rather try on somebody willing that she likes. Or is that normal for liking somebody? Ah, you be the judge!"

"But Shaggy would have to pick just one of you… Right?" Daphne was curious as to how this twist in things would play out.

"Well… Maaaybe…. Although…." Phanty trailed off again, a concerned look on her face. "I'm not so sure I'd want it that way. Maybe I do. But also, maybe I don't. I know that if Shaggy were to pick, let's say, little ol' me, then Sibella and Winnie would be sad. Tanis too. If Sibella were picked, I think Winnie would get mad. Other way around too."

"So, you'd like to… share?" Daphne, being a stickler for loyalty in relationships (especially when dealing with Fred sometimes), felt wary of Phanty's logic. Sure, keeping the peace between friends is one thing, but wasn't cheating still cheating?

"I think that could work. I like being with the Ghouls. They're my best friends. Sharing our guy wouldn't make things that different, I think. We'd still hang out together, do things, have fun."

"Couldn't you find other guys?"

"Pfft, who the hell could we find? The Calloway Cadets? The only reason why they stopped picking on us is that they noticed we grew boobs and butts. Our own species? Well, I'm sure there's a few nice ghosties out there for me. Tanis might have a hard time with that one. Mummies are kinda rare around here… And she's not good with strangers as it is. Good luck trying to convince Winnie to search elsewhere. When a werewolf choses its mate, it takes quite a bit to get her to go away. Probably the animal in her, I'd say… Elsa's pretty much a limited edition, being artificial and all, so she'd have to explore. And Sibella's options don't look so good either. All these hoity-toity classy types over in Transylvania? Booooo-ring! Thanks a lot, snooty ol' Dracula.

"Other monsters? Well, we could try that, now that we're graduated… It's finding a decent guy that's the problem. We monsters are all scattered about, mostly due to you humans and your huge population. We could try one of the secretive communities for monsters. Perhaps. If we even knew where they were. Ah, well. Maybe later. And the idea of each of us finding our own human? Need I remind you of the fear problem? I can see it now… We march into some human place and be all like 'We claim the men of this bar for monster-kind! FREEDOM!' and you can imagine how that'd go over." Phanty giggled upon thinking of that scenario.

"That would depend. If it was Sibella saying that, I guarantee not many guys would run. Trust me, some humans like getting a little freaky if the female is hot enough…" Daphne declared with a roll of her eyes, her mind momentarily expressing disdain toward 'typical male pigs'. Phantasma guffawed at the idea of the purple vampire surrounded by persistent horny barflies. "Aw, man, she'd totally hate that!" the ghost said in between hearty laughs.

"Yeah. Welcome to womanhood." Daphne shot back, giggling with her new friend. But in moments, her laughter died down as she remembered what they were talking about. "So, I'm guessing you'd rather stick to your intent on Shaggy?"

"Yup! At least, I know Sibella and Winnie will, anyway… I'm leaning toward joining in. But listen, Daphne… I promise that we won't hurt him or anything like that. I mean, why would we do that after all he did for us?" Phanty vowed, looking at her redheaded acquaintance with a serious look in her eyes. Keyword being 'eyes' as her mouth kept her mischievous smile…

"Sigh… Well, you have a point… But it's his decision on how he feels, alright? And no, I won't help you get him to choose you." Daphne added with a chuckle, moving into the spray of the shower to get the soap off. "It's bad enough you corner me into showering with another woman."

"Oh, you know you're beginning to enjoy this. I certainly have been!" Phanty played along, her eyes drifting south on Daphne's wet body again as the soap slid off of her and down the drain. Daphne noticed her gaze and, from then on, had the belief that the musical ghost was bisexual…. Not that there was anything wrong with that. The ghost at least proved to be amusing company.

"GOD DAMN CAMPERS! Snipe me from the SAME DAMN SPOT, will you? Just wait 'til I get my ass up there… My character'll shit down your pussy throats! Let's see you mate with our mothers now, you jacked-up basement-dwelling 11-YEAR-OLD MAMA'S DOUCHES!" It was turning into another normal round of online multiplayer video-gaming for a certain tomboy werewolf. How she fared was determined by the loudness of her voice. The less she screamed, the better she was doing. At the moment, she was besieged in a war game by a couple of enemy players that preferred to take the easy way to victory by finding a very-defensible, out-of-the-way area with a good view and just snipe their opponents, a cheap tactic known as 'camping'.

Winnie continued to rant and rave as avatar after avatar got their heads blown off from seemingly out of nowhere. She was slouched back on the couch in the kind of position that many a gamer had been in, the kind of position where it would take an act of God to get them to move when they're not finished playing.

"When I claw my way over there, I swear to you, I'm gonna use your spines as CHEW TOYS!" she spat as the door to her roommate's bedroom/temporary laboratory opened up. Elsa peeked her head out to glare at the fuming werewolf.

"Winnie, I doubt our hosts would appreciate your morning howling. If it's one thing I'm sure you've learned by now, it's that some human gamers cheat. From what I've seen, that seems to be one of the things of life. Can't you just deal and find another strategy?" Elsa said, almost condescendingly. This wasn't the first time she was woken out of a relaxing battery-charge by her furry friend's losing streak. As annoyed as she was, she wondered if Winnie was beginning to have a problem, even if werewolves were known for tempers.

"Yeah, ya think I haven't tried?! No matter which way I try to go to get those ass-munchers, I get sniped! Whaddya want me to do, shut up and applaud?!" Winnie had to resist the urge to whip the controller across the room. It did belong to Shaggy, after all.

"No. But perhaps a direct assault isn't the way. You're the werewolf. What happened to hunting? Stalking? Knowing when to pounce?" she asked. It was great to know what buttons to push, pun not intended. Winnie went silent as her latest avatar was loaded and spawned out on the battlefield. She immediately had her character crouch down and take some cover, knowing the general direction of the campers' fire. Sometimes, nothing motivated a werewolf more than calling out and questioning their abilities.

Seeing Winnie's character take to slow, stealthy movements, Elsa pulled her head back in and shut her door. Perhaps a focused Winnie would be a quieter Winnie. Now that things were relatively silent (until the next time the werewolf eats a bullet in her game), Elsa turned her attention back to her current morning project scattered on the little desk her room had. Detailed drawings of… herself? Done up like blueprints, the drawings were of possible ideas for adjustments she could make to her body. One was a leggy version of herself, another was a busty version. A few head-only drawings of different hairstyles she thought up. There was even a quick sketch of an overweight version of herself, in case her food-loving crush was into that sort of thing.

Picking up her pencil, she resumed sketching her latest 'blueprint', attempting to draw up a more feminine face for herself, self-conscious of the theory that she might look more like her dad. (One passing comment from Phanty years ago and it somehow had to stick in her brain…) In the back of her mind, she knew that most of the adjustments she had drawn and labeled out would probably never happen. Not without the right equipment, anyway. And while a good number of procedures could be done herself, there would be certain things she would need a helping hand with anyway. Preferably from someone that can handle surgery and none of her friends seemed capable enough, despite their talents and good intentions. Winnie doing a step that requires slow patience and accurate precision? With her temper? If anyone, Sibella might be able to handle delving inside Elsa, as it were…

At least, it was nice to dream of what could be, the graduating makeshift teenager figured. Hypothetical planning would do for now. She dropped a hint to her crush at the mall. Perhaps he would get the hint and do something? Perhaps she had to make a bigger move? Time would tell.

Shaggy, feeling tired and restless after a short night's sleep, was lazily eating his breakfast which consisted of a 2-foot stack of pancakes, drowning in maple syrup. It would've been a completely peaceful breakfast, if it hadn't been for one slight hitch. Right as he was taking another bite halfway through, his front door slammed open, revealing a purple-skinned apparition of fury clad in her 'Stay Classy' t-shirt and some shorts. "Zoinks!" was heard after the slam, slightly muffled by his mouth full of pancake.

Between the slamming of the door, the cold glare on her face, and the way she stomped toward him, it was clear that Sibella was angry. His frantic mind tried to recollect what she could possibly be upset about. Did he do something? (Standard question, right?) Before he could stammer an apology for whatever it was he thought he did, Sibella slammed something on the table, next to his plate of food.

"What… the hell… is THIS?!" she snarled, barely containing her urge to scream like a banshee at her human crush, as much as she currently felt his race deserved it.

The beatnik glanced at the item in question and immediately, his stomach dropped. 'Dammit, Daphne, why do you still have that around?!' his mind yelled as he nervously raised his eyes up to meet hers. What he saw was pure rage, something he'd thought he would never be on the business end of from someone like her. It reinforced his belief that it would serve him well to never intentionally upset a woman.

"Well…? I'm waiting, Shaggy Rogers…" Uh oh… The dreaded use of the full name. Not good! "What is the meaning of this drivel that you humans have created?" She stood even closer, her glare never leaving Shaggy's face. The poor man suddenly found himself unable to look away, seemingly taken prisoner by her angry eyes.

"I…I…I… Like, Sibella, I…" he stammered, fear causing him to shiver. Sibella just remained standing there, unmoving, waiting….watching. "Like, look, it… it's not like I wrote the thing… It, like, just happens to exist. Somebody wrote it and it became a best-seller…"

"Really? That's it?" she asked, the frown on her face accentuated by her stone-cold tone, staring deep into Shaggy's scared eyes, knowing that her Coach wouldn't lie. Shaggy nodded rapidly, beginning to whine. It was then that she realized what was going on. What was she doing, scaring her dearest friend like this?

"Hmph… It appears some humans are gravely misinformed then." Sibella said with a sigh, looking away from Shaggy. He seemed to feel a weight lift off his chest when she broke eye contact. "Still, I hate this… Not only did they get things wrong about us, they made us look…. so foolish."

"Yeah… Like, I knew that was gonna be a problem. Although, to be honest, I thought Daphne, like, got rid of that a long time ago." At this, Sibella seemed to calm down…just a little. After all, it wasn't Shaggy's fault the accursed thing exists. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have taken it out on him. For a moment, she could swear that she accidentally used her vampiric influence on him. But that couldn't be, could it?

"It's bat enough that my kind are seen as evil predators, even if some of us are indeed that. And, as time goes on, the vampire doesn't even have the regal bearing that we used to have. Even father's had a few instances of being…not so noble. I was at the Grimwood School for a while before I met you, but I heard he took interest in organizing monster-driven car races filled with deplorable obstacles. Whatever happened to an honest bat race or even just dueling?"

"Er…Yeah. Imagine that…" Shaggy said, memories rushing back of the previous time he had encountered Dracula himself, when he conned Shaggy and Scooby into driving the Wolfman's race car by placing a werewolf curse upon him. Definitely not the classiest thing anyone's done toward someone…. But that was then. It wasn't like he'd run into that legendary fiend again.

"I swear, I think there's a correlation between vampires and humans with that human concept of a… 'mid-life crisis', was it? That batty father of mine… All the power of the world at his disposal and he wants to see monsters race around. At least he seems to have been done with that. Although… from what I hear, he dropped the interest quite suddenly. Quite strange, for him. I wonder why…" Sibella's train of thought successfully diverted her from her path of rage. Of course, Shaggy had a good theory as to why Dracula quit the racing game…

"Like, maybe he lost one too many bets?" Shaggy said, ironically not far from the actual truth, from a certain point of view.

"Betting on races he organized? Oh, how the mighty have fallen…" Sibella said with a giggle, trying to imagine her father arguing with some gambling official. Such a surreal thought. "I'm just glad he stopped the races. Knowing him, his obstacles were probably of the deadly variety. Not exactly good for vampire/monster relations, of course. Even if most monsters can generally take a beating."

"Like, I can relate. I remember a couple of times we ended up, like, walking into some sort of trap." Shaggy said, leaving out the fact that it was mainly just Shaggy and Scooby themselves that ended up the victims of the traps.

The duo then remembered what got them conversing in the first place, glancing at the dreaded item in question. "Well, I must greatly apologize for yelling at you… I was out of line. But you can bat that one thing is for certain about our kind, my dear Coach." She said with an air of her usual high-class confidence. She paused, as if for effect, a fanged smile appearing on her face. "Vampires don't sparkle."

Shaggy smiled back, picking up Daphne's copy of Twilight and tossing it onto the couch in the living room. "Like, I figured as much. Hmm… Want some pancakes, Sibella? I still got plenty left."

Relieved that Shaggy wasn't put off by her anger, the purple vampire sat down at the table. "Sure, Shaggy. It'd be a pleasure. Meanwhile, you can tell me some more about what humans generally know about vampires. I'd hate to have to yell at you again for any more… 'surprises'. I may be accepting of most things but, I admit, that one knocked a couple of bats from my belfry." She answered with a grin. Far be it for her to miss out on some alone time with her favorite human, after all.

Tanis was curious. About what? Why, more about the kind of adventures that her Coach had gotten into. It was why she ended up in the Mystery Inc Office with Fred and Velma as the little mummy perused the agency's collection of odds and ends they had collected along the way. As she perused an item, Velma or Fred would explain its significance. Of course, Velma had more of a detailed explanation while Fred mostly had stories about how they trumped whatever fake monster an item was associated with.

"As sad as this kinda sounds, most of our encounters with monsters ended up being just human jerks that wanted to scare off people because they wanted some property or hidden treasure or somebody's money or something like that." Velma said after wrapping up a fifth story. "I know it might sound a little anticlimactic for a paranormal detective agency, but still, people were thankful that we ended up stopping some criminals.

"Well, I think it was good work you were doing. Do you know how angry some monster species get about when others are misunderstood about their culture or habits? My father once took me to see King Tut when I was little… He was always upset because people had gotten some belief out of some human movie that he could… what was it again? Teleport by becoming living sand? Something like that… I remember him saying that he was only a pharaoh, not a sorcerer."

"Jinkies, I never thought too much about that. That's quite the viewpoint, Tanis." Velma said, patting the bandaged girl on the head. Velma couldn't help it, the mummy was adorable…for a mummy. The girl giggled, never minding the attention.

"Miss Grimwood sometimes says that people rarely think of consequences of their actions that don't directly affect them or those around them, positive or negative." Tanis said, picking up another trinket to examine (a mummy mask, ironically enough).

"Your teacher sounds like a smart lady. There's too many factors to consider everything that can possibly happen as a result of something. So the best thing to do is to not think too much on it." Velma mused as she resumes typing on her laptop. The genius took to typing up her observations of Mystery Inc's new guests, not to spy but to add to her independent research of actual monsters.

"Not think too much? But, aren't you the thinker?" Tanis asked, tilting her head in an inquisitive gesture. Velma and Fred had to chuckle at that. The mummy did have an ironic point.

"Believe me, Tanis, sometimes Velma needs to follow her own advice." the blond remarked in a joking manner. Velma snorted. "Hah. Says the guy who thought a real werewolf was another Red Herring scheme."

"Dammit, Velma, that was a week ago..." muttered the blond as Velma and Tanis laughed at his expense.

"Good thing Winnie's taking her anger out on random strangers on those video games, huh?" Tanis quipped, giggling as Fred scowled. Grumbling about wise-cracking geniuses, Fred grabbed a section of the day's newspaper and started perusing the articles as Velma began to regale Tanis with another story of the gang's adventures.

A door was pushed open, an ominous breeze blowing into the establishment as a cloaked figure entered. None of the patrons paid him any mind, their business being their own. This suited Dracula fine. Despite feeling another slight ping of his daughter's power in momentary use, he still needed an exact location of his target. The further he went in the general direction of the source of Sibella's power bursts, the better the odds of him finding some local yokel that knows where Mystery Inc is. At least, that was the logic the vampire had in mind.

His previous idea of scouring the human media garbage known as 'tabloids' for possible leads proved to be an infuriating venture, as Dracula scoured magazine after magazine. After so much mindless drivel about celebrity relationships and the ass of some famous harlot named 'Kardashian', Dracula could literally feel his mind shrinking with newfound stupidity. It would have become permanent had he not taken drastic action. Fortunately for Dracula, the news reported the incident at the gas station convenience store he had been in as "another shooting in today's troubled America"… And he had gotten a 'snack' out of it as well.

Another flight later brings us to the present time, Dracula standing at the entrance of a cheap run-down bar. Alcohol, the banal sustenance of the vapid and powerless, according to Dracula. But here he was. One of these letches had to know something amongst the booze and the sounds of the jukebox's classic rock tunes. His selection of victims for interrogation seemed to be slim pickings. The bartender looked weary enough, bored out of his skull as he wiped a glass clean. Cliché. Some young guy sat at the bar, a drink in one hand and his cell phone in the other. It looked like he was texting. Across the bar, a tough-looking guy was playing pool solo. Lurking next to the jukebox was a woman that, judging from her watchful gaze of interest and her attire, was clearly a prostitute.

Not even giving the harlot's inviting gestures a hint of being noticed, Dracula approached the bar, thinking that the bartender would know the way around these parts and might have heard of a few things.

"Excuse me, barkeep. Perhaps you could be of assistance to me." he started, as civil as possible.

"Whaddya need, Goth-a-palooza?" The strangest thing, Dracula noticed, was that it didn't even look like the bartender even bothered to look at him yet, instead just concentrating dully on his wiping of glasses.

"You dare address… Ugh… Never mind. Vat I need is the location of a place. Might be a couple of towns over, but I'm not sure. Do you know the vay around these parts?" Unfortunately for the traveling bat, he hadn't counted on a certain factor: He was in a bar… in a small American town… in 2015… with a foreign accent.

"Vat? Vay? Hic… Hey, you… Cape boy…" came the voice of the phone-carrying drunk. "Yer not from around here, are ya?"

"Oh, vat gave it away, you cur?" Dracula replied, sarcastically. "I just asked for directions, did I not?"

"Yer one of dem foreigners, aren'cha? There's… a lotta talk… about you foreigners… You… Ya wanna blow us all up b'cause yer not 'Murican and yer jealous of us! Dat's what th' news said!" the drunk ranted, stupidly pointing a finger at an unamused Dracula. The nerve of some people…

"Bah, you're vorse than those damn tabloids. Just go home before you hurt yourself." the vampire advised, not wanting to blow his chance at obtaining some information. Obviously, Dracula's advice didn't sit well with the upset drunk.

"An' let you shoot ev'ryone else up? I don't think so, Mohammad or whatever yer name is! That political guy was right! We need a wall 'round this great country to keep losers like you out!" the drunk said, clumsily standing up. Dracula growled. Who the hell would mistake someone of his stature and look for someone from the middle east? A paranoid drunk, apparently…

"Alright, buddy, calm down. The man just needs directions. Just sit back down and use your phone." The bartender calmly interjected, again not even looking up from his work. Strange…

"Would our troops sit back down when th' enemy invades our shores?! Nah, I gotta teach this cape boy how to speak 'Murican!" With that, the inebriated twenty-something started forward, only to meet a fist to the face. The would-be 'patriot' dropped to the ground like a rock. Having taken care of the apparent racist, Dracula turned back to the bartender.

"Some people today… Anyvay, as I vas saying, I'm looking for a paranormal detective agency called Mystery Inc. I was told that they may be vithin the region. Do you know of them?"

"Not much. Hadn't had need of such a business. But… I heard o' them. Couple o' towns northwest of here, if I recall. Coolsville, I think. Goofy name for a town, huh?"

Dracula grinned. He had Mr. Rogers now… "Indeed. I thank you, barkeep. Hmm… Do you mind if I take out the trash?" he said, referring to the knocked-out drunk.

"Just take him outside. When he comes to, that should be clue enough that he's done." the bartender said dismissively.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll know…."

The bloodless remains of 'Mr. Murica' would remain undiscovered until two days later when the garbage truck came for the dumpster…. Undiscovered by anyone that would actually report it, that is. Just as a freshly-fed Dracula was about to change into his bat form and take off, a voice called out.

"Hey, buddy! Kind of an odd place to be hanging around. What, couldn't find a bathroom in that shithole?"

Not too far away, near where the entrance was, was a man. He seemed like just another typical human, but Dracula had this feeling that this particular mortal was… different. Not like that arrogant Dante, but still. Average height, short black hair, nondescript outfit of a blue button-up shirt, khaki pants, and boots. What was unusual, at least for the concept of a normal town-living human, was the double-barrel shotgun holstered to his back, the large duffel bag that was hanging off his left shoulder, and the fake wooden right hand… Nonetheless, Dracula was irritated by the interruption.

"No. I just… finished a smoke, yes. No smoking rule, am I correct?" Dracula literally had pulled that excuse out of thin air, obviously unsure of many modern-day human customs. Mostly because he didn't give a shit, of course. But it could have helped blend in more…

"In there? Hah. People break that one all the time. Bars are all the same if you've been to enough of 'em. Say, tell me something… Notice anything weird in there?" It may have been just Dracula having a long night, but he was certain that this stranger appeared to be quite tense, as if ready for some sort of attack.

"Vierd? Besides one rude customer, not really. The bartender did seem to see everything vithout even looking at anything, but I doubt that's anything to investigate."

"No. No, that's not. I'd rather investigate any chicks in the bar, but that's just me talkin'. That's beside the point. Because, here I am, about to go in and have myself a drink to forget all the crap I've been going through lately when what should I see, but some creepy guy dragging some shmuck around back. Oh, nothing 'vierd' about that, right?"

"To be fair, he did have a little too much to drink."

The man simply chuckled. "Ain't that just typical…" he said cynically. "Could say the same about you, deadite." As he says that, his left hand quickly reaches up, grabs his shotgun, and aims it at Dracula. "You see this? Do you know how many of your kind I've splattered across walls? I wouldn't say I've beaten an army, but hey, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Vat the hell is a deadite? I am a vampire and that fool vas irritating me. So he became a meal. Now if you'll excuse me, I have little time for your cheap prattle." Dracula spat before he dramatically brought his cape around himself to transform. The apparent vigilante fired his shotgun, both barrels spitting fire and loud as lightning.

The shrapnel from the firearm hit the cape-wrapped vampire hard, pain flaring from his new arm and chest wounds as Dracula growled his displeasure. The mortal weapon was indeed powerful. Not enough to slay a vampire of his power, but it definitely didn't tickle. Frustrated, Dracula tore off his now-ruined cape and threw it on the ground. Why was it that no matter where he went, somebody wanted a fight?

Ash Williams was not a smart man. Nor was he a gentle one, to most. In fact, he was perfectly comfortable being known as a giant blowhard. But one thing he did well, especially since his fatefully horrible night in a certain cabin with a certain book, was fight the undead. He still felt that life owed him big time for his reluctant 'service'. The least it could do was actually let him have a steady girlfriend that wouldn't end up the victim of the forces of the Necronomicon. Was some poon really too much to ask for? But no, he still had business to deal with, such as this random vampire attack. Sure, he didn't know the victim at all. Some unlucky shmuck. But, knowing the undead, one victim soon became two, then four, then more. Thus, why he followed Dracula when he dragged the drunk to the back. He didn't know for sure what the scoop, of course. But seeing some knocked out guy dragged out of a bar and toward somewhere secluded by some pale guy wearing some outdated clothes was strange enough to look into.

It was good to investigate things. Even though he had the mentality of not giving two shits about a lot of things, he always had the goal of making sure that unholy book wouldn't get away with everything. (Not that he didn't try to shirk the duty once or twice before, of course… He had a life, dammit.) And so, here he was, firing his shotgun at a vampire. He had a feeling that this opponent wouldn't be shredded by one shot, like most of the small-time deadite minions. Still, damage was damage. While the vampire was disposing of his cape, he disposed of the shotgun, detached his fake hand, and stuck his handless arm within the open duffel bag until something clicked. Letting the bag slide off his shoulder and dropping off of the item now attached to the stump of his arm, he unveiled his other best weapon: The Chainsaw.

"Groovy." he said, before revving up the chainsaw. Some local whiskey sure would go fine with slaying a vampire…

The clientele of the bar were peacefully going about their business, trying to forget the outside world the only ways they knew how. It was just too bad for them that, on this day, the outside world literally broke into their peaceful existence when one of the front windows was savagely broken in by a thrown body slamming through it, landing onto, and rolling off a nearby table, glass scattering everywhere and the table knocked over.

The intruding body, one Ash Williams, immediately struggled to get to his feet, his chainsaw 'hand' puttering along. Vampires were definitely a tough bunch. At least, this one was... A few failed slashes with the chainsaw to begin the fight and Ash had been put on the defensive, Dracula swinging for his head with a few fists of his own. Having fought a good chunk of his adult life, Ash managed to dodge a good number of the punches, even getting lucky enough to swing a few with his good hand. The vampire's agility was simply better as Ash got hit with a solid knee to the gut, leaving him open to a strong right hook to the face, sending him tumbling back.

Ash had remained defensive as he backed away from the vampire's quick attacks. That was until he reached the front parking area of the bar. Dracula had enough of the human's cowardly retreat and defensive swings of the chainsaw, simply rushed in with his superior speed, grabbed him by the shirt, and tossed him toward the bar. The rest was history.

Ash rushed out of the bar, clutching his sore gut, expecting to see an angry vampire coming in for the kill or something. Instead, there was nothing. Nobody there. "Well… Shit." Ash muttered to himself. It wasn't the first time a tough deadite had given him the slip. A lot of times, that resulted in said deadite coming back to bite him in the ass somehow. Trudging back into the bar and cutting the chainsaw's engine, he paid no mind to the locals that stared at him as if he'd do something else to startle them like his first entrance did and approached the bar. Amazingly, the bartender was casually cleaning the countertop, not even looking at Ash or anyone else.

"Rough night, huh? Need a drink?" the bartender said as if the whole incident didn't happen at all. So the vampire wasn't lying about a strange barkeep…

"Yeah, about a whole keg of Jack Daniels. So, you see some weird guy with some tacky-ass outfit on a little while ago? About so tall, talks with an accent, extremely punchable face…"

"Yeah. I seen him. Seemed to be looking for someone. I told him to go look in Coolsville, a few towns thataway…" the barkeep replied, pointing a nonchalant finger in a northwest direction. Ash balked at such a cheesy town name.

"Oh, for the love of… Why couldn't he be headed for Jacksonville, Florida…?"

"…and that is why the notion of a vampire being instantly destroyed by sunlight isn't exactly true." Sibella concluded. Her and Shaggy had been discussing vampire lore for at least a couple of hours, resulting in Shaggy having blown off the Ghouls' morning exercises. Truthfully, during their chat, the two had heard from Elsa that Winnie was in a particularly foul mood for some reason so far that morning… Probably wasn't a good idea to bother her.

"Like, I see. Good to know that someone like you won't be, like, put down that easily." Shaggy said. He had wondered how much the sunlight actually bothers Sibella.

"There are perks to being the daughter of a vampire lord, after all. Not to mention, I did spend most of my childhood being taught my abilities and expanding my limits. That being said, sunscreen. Always sunscreen. It is the sun, after all." she added with a smirk. As she finished saying that, she suddenly felt something. Something familiar… Something that shouldn't even be remotely close to her. The power she sensed made her sit straight up and pause with a stricken look on her face, mostly due to the identity of the power's owner…

Shaggy noticed. "Uh, Sibella? Like, you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"No, my dear Coach. I'm afraid I'm not alright. I just… I felt someone coming." She said, placing a palm to her forehead, as if getting a migraine. "I'm not sure why, but… my father is in this country and seems to be looking for me…"

"ZOINKS! What?!" Shaggy cried, certainly unprepared to deal with the possibility of encountering an old foe again. Moments later, Scooby rushed into the kitchen, having been woken up from Shaggy's outburst.

"Rhat's wrong, Raggy?"

"He's not just in this country, Shaggy…" Sibella went on. "Father is nearby. I would venture to guess that he is a few towns away, at least. This is most dreadful. He would never venture outside Transylvania unless…." Her eyes widened. "Oh no…"

"Like, oh no what?"

"The school! Miss Grimwood must have sent out notification letters to our parents about there being no formal graduation ceremony because of this visit! Knowing Father and his preference of maintaining class and formality, he must have went over there, seeking answers…" Sibella got up and started to pace, having seen her father's temper in action before.

"Sounds like he got them if he's, like, heading this way!" Shaggy said with a nervous waver in his voice.

"And he probably won't need them by now. If I can sense him, he should have no problem using me as a sort of homing beacon… The troublesome part is, as you know, he never had much of a fondness for humans as a living species… Food, however..." she cryptically trailed off, not needing to say what the others knew.

"Ron't re row it…" Scooby grumbled.

"Well, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, I hope. I'm safe and sound, aren't I?" Sibella thought out loud. "Yeah. All I would have to do is show that I am unharmed and tell of how wonderful you've been and I'm sure he'll be at least reasonable." Like most overprotective fathers, 'reasonable' would be the best Shaggy could hope for when it comes to Dracula and his daughter…

"Thanks, Sibella. But, like, I'm not so sure that's going to work well…" Shaggy said, nervously looking out a window as if expecting the demented race organizer to just fly in at any time.

"Oh, Shaggy, you'll be fine." Sibella assured, walking up to him. She put a gentle hand on his back. "I promise he won't even lay one wing on you. I give you my word as a Dracula…and as your student." Shaggy turned to his purple student, immediately noticing the determination and care in her eyes. He swore it was so easy to get lost in her gaze. It was getting harder to tell if it was himself growing feelings for her or if it was something to do with her race…

"…Ok, Sibella. Thanks. Yeah, like, this shouldn't be that hard…" Shaggy said, mostly to himself than the pretty vampire.

'Not hard at all, with Sibella here.' he thought. 'Hell, it's been a few years since that race. Maybe he, like, won't remember me.'

At that moment, Dracula's bat form was speeding across the sky, heading northwest…

'You humiliate me at my own game, you entice MY daughter into the human realm, and you force me to endure this ludicrous, embarrassing search… Just you wait, Shaggy Rogers! I will have my REVENGE!'

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Whew… Done just in time for Christmas! Let's see… Not much going on with Mystery Inc, I guess. I admit, it seemed like it was filler stuff, but I thought it'd be a nice way to show a little progression as far as how the girls are behaving at their new home and are relating to Mystery Inc. Looks like they're finally getting used to the newcomers!

Side-note: If there are any Twilight fans here, my apologies for the obvious joke I had to include. Seriously, Twilight vampires are the only ones that "sparkle", so I'd imagine that most other vampires would be…well… pretty much "Oh HELL no!" about it. Besides, no harm in a little humor, right?

Next up should be the confrontation between Dracula and Shaggy/Mystery Inc about a certain all-purple hottie. Thoughts and ideas on it would be appreciated. Review, review, review! Please?

Now, a couple of notes on the Dracula segment of the chapter. First off, I hope nobody minded that I parodied the fact that plenty of people in America are quite riled up and paranoid about foreign terrorist attacks these days, practically to the point of needless racism. I just thought that it'd fit right in as a play off of Dracula's infamous accent. And who better than a total drunk to do so, right?

Secondly, yes, Ash from Evil Dead. I freakin' love the new Ash Vs. Evil Dead show. It's totally epic and, if you don't mind me saying, you should totally go watch it. Seriously, go watch it. Doesn't matter how ya do so, just watch it. It's groovy. Bruce Campbell is the man!

Recommendation aside, time for some Reviewer Replies!

Dark Goddess 2000 – Guess what. I'm replying again! Lol. Thanks a lot for the praise. I hope I've still managed to keep Shaggy in-character, what with him trying to get used to the fact that his students like him and his own potential feelings. As for people not updating their stories, I think we've all been there before, waiting for a writer to post the next chapter of a story we're interested in… Seems to be a common problem, unfortunately. Even with myself, I admit. Case in point, some of my other stories (which I hope to get back to!).

Snakespur – Hope ya like who Dracula ran into this time!

The Keeper Of Worlds – Ranma ½ is totally awesome, dude! Loved the manga. Interesting idea, although it might seem to be one that could be its own fanfic, if ya get what I mean. Still, I appreciate the idea and love the effort. Thanks!

The Scottish Hippie – Well, it may not be Dean and Sam, but I hope this cameo entertained you anyway. And hey, I did throw in a Twilight joke anyway! Hmm… Horror movie marathon? Nice idea! Perhaps after the showdown with Drac.

That ManX – Truth or Dare? I can see that getting sexual in a hurry, knowing the Ghouls. Lol.

G. Johns – Responding to your PM here, I like the idea of adding a Hex Girls appearance somewhere in here. Not sure about adding them to the mix of being part of the possible Shaggy harem, though. It could work, but at the same time, it could be a case of 'The harem's too big!' or something. Perhaps I should make a poll and have people vote on it?

All Guests – THANKS! Seriously, thanks a lot!


	8. Overprotective Vampire: Final Justice

Disclaimer: I really don't own anything. (How many times must I say this?)

Chapter 8: Overprotective Vampire: Final Justice

"We have little time. The others must be warned, dear Shaggy." Sibella said as she guided the nervous human to the door of his apartment. He could only nod as the fear of the upcoming confrontation spread across his mind. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of Sibella standing by his side, the chance of her familial link to Dracula allowing the old legend to listen to reason. Then again, the idea of Sibella standing by him in general was plenty enough of a shining beacon of hope for Shaggy.

The trio left and immediately went to the nearest occupied apartment, Fred and Daphne's. Sibella pounded on the door, a clear notification of how nervous she must have been as well since she would have just politely knocked. Moments later, Daphne answered….with a giddy Phantasma hanging off the redhead's neck in some child-like hug. Sibella smirked in amusement while the boys raised their eyebrows.

"Having fun, Phanty?" the vampiress said with a slight chuckle, much to the chagrin of Daphne.

"Would it be too much to ask that you three babysit her now?" Daphne grumbled. She began to wonder if it was a mistake to say that she considered the now-clingy ghost a friend… Then wondered if that was why Phantasma pretty much only had the Grimwood Ghouls as friends. She concluded by feeling bad for her new friend.

"Aww, c'mon, Daphne. I'm just playing." Phanty said, giggling as she let go and floated beside Daphne.

"Unfortunately, yes, it is too much to ask for. We are about to have some unwelcome company…" Sibella said, her slight joy faded as she redirected herself to the bigger item at hand. Shaggy gulped, a nervous reflex.

"What's wrong, Sibella?" asked the redhead, knowing that the well-behaved vampire wouldn't be one to lie about something.

"Well, it's… my father. He's apparently on his way here. I can sense him from here. I don't get the feeling that this will be a social visit, if you get my meaning…"

"What? Why would he be mad? You're graduating. Shouldn't he be proud?"

"He should be and probably is. But the problem is our little arrangement here. My best guess is that Ms. Grimwood sent out letters to our parents to notify them that there won't be a formal ceremony, Father did not like the lack of pomp and circumstance, traveled to the school, and found out we went to your realm. As you may know from legend, Father has a certain disdain toward humans…"

Daphne grew agitated with dread. "Oh, I should have known there would be some problems with this. Ugh! Dracula himself? Well… let's gather the others." With that, the four went to find everyone, splitting up to save time. A comical moment occurred in the process when Scooby walked into Winnie and Elsa's to see the patchwork girl 'playing keep-away' with Winnie's controller, apparently having had enough of the werewolf's tantrums. The redheaded wolf in question kept leaping and pouncing at the controller to get it back, but Elsa's hands were that much quicker.

It took fifteen minutes to gather everyone in Mystery Inc's main office and fill them in on the situation. The small room was just as crowded as it was when the Ghouls introduced themselves, but now everyone was more comfortable around each other. "Jinkies, are you sure he might be upset, Sibella?" Velma asked, the first to react to the vampire's tale.

"I'm pretty sure. He might think that you're 'corrupting' me or something. Typical vampire dad… " Sibella replied with a roll of her eyes. Sure, it was nice to be the apple of a loving parent's eye, but she wasn't a child anymore. "Hmm… I sense him approaching. Ten minutes away, I think."

"Couldn't we make like we're… I dunno… pro-vampire or something? Not that we are, of course." Fred asked, adding the last part as an afterthought. Both Sibella and, oddly enough, Shaggy coughed an attention-grabbing 'ahem!' and glared at the blond.

"Fred! Insensitive much? We live with one." Daphne scolded, crossing her arms. Fred stammered. "I uhh… I meant the 'I want to suck humans dry!' evil kind of vampire!"

"Like, Fred, we know what you mean and I get ya. But still, it's her father."

The purple woman placed a hand on her former teacher's arm, stopping him. "Shaggy, it's fine. It certainly isn't the first time Fred has made a mistake… Isn't that right, Winnie?" she said, with a smirk and a knowing glance at her best friend. "Damn straight!" the werewolf chuckled in dark amusement, crossing her arms in a sense of 'Don't mess with this team'.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry. Jeez…" Fred groused. This kind of thing never happens to him when the gang was out on the road. It was almost like his hometown was against him in some spiritual way he couldn't put his finger on. First, his childhood feud with Red Herring. Now this.

Elsa coughed to attract attention. "Sibella, you know that we'll stand by you if your dad gets the wrong idea."

"Seems like ol' Batsy's been getting a lot of those lately in recent years, according to my pop." Winnie remarked with a smirk. "No offense of course, 'Bella."

"Oh, none taken." the purple vampire said with a dismissive wave of a hand. After all, even she had talked a little trash about him. "I'd say the best course of action would be to go meet him outside and see how the conversation goes. If things go sour, I suppose we could…wing it."

Phantasma floated toward her, looking confused. "Uhh, 'wing it' like fight with whatever's handy or 'wing it' like flying away in retreat? Ya know…since that's a pun with multiple meanings… Just saying."

Sibella slapped a palm to her face. This was going to be a long day… "Just follow our lead, then…"

The yard between the apartment building and the front gate was of decent size, more than enough room for the group of humans and Ghouls to stand opposite Dracula when he arrived. Velma, Winnie, Elsa, and Sibella all mentally calculated that the flat spread of grass would also be suitable space for combat, should 'daddy dearest' go over the edge. The only downside to combat would be that the noisy event would draw unwanted human attention from neighbors and passing pedestrians.

Minutes passed as the group made small chatter, mostly Shaggy being nervous and the others convincing him that things would be OK. Sibella had subconsciously put her hand in Shaggy's as her mind continued to track her father's progress. Any minute now. She figured that Coolsville had to be within his sight, based on his current position. She took a moment to mentally find it ironic that a group was waiting for a powerful vampire at midday. She suddenly worried about if he had applied plenty of vampire-strength sunscreen, as was normal for a daughter to be concerned about family. The thought passed, remembering the reason for his abrupt travels.

A couple more minutes later, a large old vampire bat was seen depending toward the group until it landed about fifteen feet across from them. Showtime… The bat bought his wings around himself and started to expand upward until the cloaked figure of Dracula materialized. The Vampire Lord spread his cape out in a dramatic flourish, causing Sibella to roll her eyes.

The ancient being looked upon the mishmash of individuals before him. He first noticed his daughter and allowed a momentary feeling of pride surge within him. Such a marvelous young lady she had become! Her mother would be proud, had she still been around… But alas. He vaguely recognized her Grimwood friends, from the handful of times that he had seen them at the closings of school years for summer vacations. They were nice enough young ladies, from what he recalled. Suitable to be Sibella's social circle, he surmised. Then, there was the riffraff….

The blond, the redhead, and the bespectacled one looked to him like any other mortal meatbags. This was Mystery Inc? But then, he saw…them. That damnable oaf and his stupid mutt. Never since the Belmont clan or Van Helsing had anyone foiled him so. The human should have considered himself lucky that all he foiled was a biased road race and not one of his occasional attempts to conquer humanity… But then, the oaf had to put ideas in his daughter's head. Ideas of coexistence (Bah!), human culture (Worthless!), and compassion (Family is more than enough for vampires!). How dare he corrupt HIS sole pride and joy!

"Father." Sibella greeted curtly but respectfully, preferring better circumstances but knowing how this conversation might go. "I assume your visit is about my graduation?"

Dracula couldn't help but smile warmly at his offspring. "Oh, Sibella. I must admit it is vonderful to see you, no matter the cause. Graduation is a proud moment for both parent and child, I have come to discover."

"Indeed it is. I do apologize for not allowing a formal ceremony, Father. But we all felt it was our desire to pay a fond visit to our favorite mentor. He has taught us so much and it would be remiss not to catch up on old times, as it were." Sibella said with a noble air and a smile of her own. She had hopes that his greeting meant he might be willing to listen. After all, she was his daughter and his pride of her might outweigh the circumstances, now that he was actually here and seeing her.

Dracula frowned. His nemesis was her favorite mentor. It was worse than he thought. This clown was good, he had to admit… "Vile that is understandable and quite admirable of you to show respect to a good teacher… Vy this mere human? Vat can he do that a proud monster couldn't?"

Sibella's smile disappeared. There's that patented anti-human racism... "Father, being a monster doesn't make someone a better teacher."

"Yeah!" Winnie piped up, stepping forward. "Coach Shaggy may not look like much, but he's been there for us. Taught us how to keep in shape, to have more confidence in ourselves." Leave it to a werewolf to stand up to a vampire…

"Yes, vell, be that as it may…" he replied sternly before turning his attention to the human in question. "Mr. Shaggy Rogers… Ve meet…again." he said, a certain cold tone entering his voice.

"AGAIN?" the others said in unison, this coming as a surprise to both the Ghouls and Mystery Inc. The note of surprise wasn't lost on the legend.

"Vhy, Mr. Shaggy, you didn't tell your friends of our last encounter those years ago? Ven it was just you, your two mutts, and that simpering bubblehead of a girlfriend of yours? Well… at least, you prove yourself not to be a braggart. A redeeming quality to have." Dracula mused in an appreciative way. It was good to know that his reputation was still mostly secure. Still… "Too bad that it's not enough to spare you."

"Where did you meet my father before, Shaggy? What happened?" Sibella asked, curiosity abound as her grip on his hand tightened slightly. The others looked at Shaggy expectantly.

"Yeah, man. What's he talking about?" Fred seconded.

"Another adventure during your time away, I suppose?" Daphne thought out loud.

"Who's this 'bubblehead' girlfriend?" Winnie growled, sounding almost jealous. Well, some people certainly had other priorities…

"Like, alright, alright! I'll explain everything. Sigh… Where to begin? Like, well… Sibella, remember what you were telling me about your father's interest in racing…?"

"Vat! Daughter, how could you tell of my… quirks to a mere human?!" Dracula interjected, indignant about his rep. Sibella glowered at the other vampire. "Father, as my teacher, he has a right to listen when I have concerns, whether it be about schooling, boys…" she momentarily trailed off as thoughts of Shaggy sprang up. "…or even family matters. I have sometimes wondered what would make you proud after graduation, since it's now upon us."

"Vell, I vould like it if you became a proud, feared heir to the Dracula name, you know. Strong yet subtle, smart but deadly, with the power to rule nations. That sort of thing…" Dracula said. It seemed impossible to consider, but for the first time (at least in the presence of mortals), Dracula explaining something sounded kind of…. foolish. It was probable that Dracula knew that Sibella never was the kind of bat to do any sort of cruel things to anyone. (On the other hand, at least her gentle attitude prevented any possibility of dealing with major parenting mishaps involving bratty children…)

"Father… Even if we did 'rule' anything more than Transylvania, you know that I would prefer to be a just leader." the purple woman said, crossing her arms. This wasn't the first time the two Draculas had discussed the idea of passing the torch and what was to be expected. Sibella never could get her head around the predisposition of ruling by death and fear, just like she never did fully understand the rivalry between werewolves and vampires once she befriended Winnie.

"And I suppose spending time with Mr. Shaggy hasn't changed your mind? Bah! Vho am I kidding? Of course, it hasn't." Dracula grumbled before being cut off by an impatient Winnie. "Hey! Can Coach tell his story now?"

Had this been any other kind of situation, everybody else would have looked at Winnie like she had accidentally started a timer to a bomb. But reactions were mixed. Velma, Tanis, Elsa, Sibella, and Phanty agreed with the werewolf's outburst and looked to Shaggy expectantly ("Ooooh! Do tell, do tell!" giggled Phantasma). Fred was concerned, while Daphne and Scooby took a couple of steps backward, just in case. Fortunately, Dracula gestured for Shaggy to keep talking, a deep frown having set in.

"Alright, like… well… You said he suddenly lost interest in having races, right…?" Shaggy asked Sibella. She simply nodded. After releasing a long sigh, Shaggy began his tale. "Like, life was going kinda swell for us at the time. It was just myself, Scooby, our other dog, Scrappy, and my at-the-time girlfriend, Googie."

"That's an odd name. And I've heard a lot of 'em, lemme tell ya." Winnie commented in a wise-ass tone.

"Makes you wonder what would've happened if her parents had named her 'Google'." Fred said, getting snickers from everyone except Dracula.

"If I have a kid named Google, I'm gonna have her search for a lot of things!" Phantasma declared, pointing a finger skyward in an exaggerated gesture. "Especially if I'm feeling lucky!"

"Can ve please keep this going?!" Dracula snapped, sick of feeling like he was part of a bad comedy show. It was bad enough he was about to sit through a retelling of one of his defeats.

Once the group calmed down, Shaggy continued. "Like, anyways… I had a good thing going with a local race track. I even had a customized car and everything. Sometimes I, like, miss that car… But one night, I took Googie and the dogs to a drive in movie. All the sudden, I black out during the movie. Like, when I woke up, long story short, we were kidnapped. By tall, dark, and fangy over there."

"WHAT?!" the group said almost in unison. Both the Ghouls and Mystery Inc were upset by this, but Mystery Inc more so, since the Ghouls knew of Lord Dracula and his tendency to hunt for humans for blood… It was upsetting that Shaggy was one of the countless captured, although it wasn't for food, oddly enough.

"Why would Father kidnap you?" Sibella asked, bothered by both the fact that Dracula attacked her favorite human (even though it was before she even met him, of course) and also the coincidence of this apparent incident and him becoming her teacher… Odd…

"He, like, did more than just kidnap me, Sibella… Apparently, there's this book that he had. Some sort of, like, dark mystical stuff. He used it to cast a curse on me, like, unaware…"

Sibella's frown almost matched her father's as she turned to Dracula, glaring. "Fatherrrrr…." she said in the way that only women can say something when they consider a male they know to be in deep trouble. "Care to explain…?"

"What kinda curse was it, Coach?" Winnie asked. Oh, the irony… "Ro boy…" Scooby said, the irony of who, or rather, what had asked that question not lost on him.

"He, like… turned me into a werewolf."

Again, a chorus of "WHAT!"s was heard. Fred, Velma, and Daphne were understandably offended by Dracula's actions. How dare he curse their friend. Elsa, Tanis, and Phantasma were confused as to why a vampire wanted to turn a human into a werewolf. Even so, the fact that it was placed upon their Coach unwillingly was enough to anger them. Sibella's rage grew, but she remained still, her hand again in Shaggy's, although her grip grew tight…

And then there was Winnie. The poor woman was admittedly torn. On one hand, there was a moment in time when the man she had urges to mate with was a fellow werewolf. Her own kind! One part of her might have called it a sign that he'd choose her, perhaps fate or karma at work. Her imagination started to try to picture her intended mate as a werewolf, almost causing her to drool. But then the reality hit. He was turned against his will. (Granted, plenty were turned against their will anyway.) It wasn't even done in the traditional way of the Werewolf Bite. A dark book? What the Evil Dead is Dracula's problem?! With the kidnapping on top of that, it was enough to make Winnie feel like a part of her desires toward Shaggy were… violated.

"Why…?" Winnie growled, sounding almost as feral as her Full Moon mode. Everyone else grew quiet, suddenly getting chills from the demand. The Ghouls and Mystery Inc slowly backed away from Winnie, as much as Tanis and Sibella wanted to comfort the clearly-upset werewolf. "Why a werewolf, blood-sucker?!"

"Perhaps you should ask your father the same question." Dracula retorted, a regal coldness entering his voice. He shall not let fury control him… yet. No matter how much this farce baits him. "After all, it vas HIM that decided that he no longer vanted any part of my Monster Road Rally."

"Your race…?" Sibella said, her eyes wide open. Was it really…? She looked to Shaggy. He nodded. "Yes. Dracula, like, said that he needed a new werewolf for his race after the previous one retired. According to him, his creepy book had singled me out. I, like, still don't know why it would. I'm no 'chosen one' or anything…"

"Couldn't you have your damn race without a werewolf?! It's not like we'd be pissed off if we were excluded. It was just a race! Not some important council function or whatever!" Winnie snarled. She had heard stories from her dad about how crappy the race actually was. Traps, both practical and magical, scattered about. Misleading detours. The risk of one's car being tampered with if you had happened to have displeased the Vampire King recently. Dangers that even hardy monsters would deem hazardous to their health…

"Yes, but it just vouldn't do, verevolves being as prominent a species as they are in the monster world… I simply had to have one in the race somehow. If your father vouldn't 'play ball', as they say, I had to find someone that vould." Dracula said with a fanged sneer. After all the crap it took to get here, he certainly wasn't above egging someone on… "Besides, Ms. Vinnie… I vould have thought you'd have liked the idea of your dear Coach becoming one of you. Heh…"

"Why…. you… you…! You giant mosquito!" Winnie shouted, claws poking out from her fingers. But before she could lunge at him, a pair of hands clapped down on her shoulders. Sibella and Shaggy, caring and understanding. Seeing the sympathetic looks, Winnie sheathed the claws and tried to calm down. "It'll be fine, Winnie. Father was never very sociable when angry… Quite combative, obviously. Shaggy, would you please continue the story?" Sibella said, more like calmly giving an order than asking. Somebody had to take charge before things got out of hand and they got unwanted attention.

"Uhh, yeah. Like, so I was pretty much conned into taking part in the race. I managed to talk him into letting me become human again if I win the race. Like, boy, did he not want me to win at all or what? First thing he tried was keeping me awake so I'd be too tired to race well!" At this, Sibella snorted in annoyance. Being middle-aged was not sitting well with her father… "Then, when I got to my car, well…"

"Let me guess. It was sabotaged?" Daphne cut in knowingly, almost having a sense of where the group's adventures tend to go. "Like, how'd you guess?" Shaggy asked, chuckling a little.

"You cheating bullshit!" Winnie spat toward Dracula. In response, Phanty drew a traffic cone out of her dress and used it as an old-school megaphone to sing-chant "Bullshit, BULLshit, BulllllllSHIT! BULLSHIT! Bull! Bull! BULLSHIT! Hey, can I get a beat so I can take this guy to Bullshit City? B-B-B-BULLLLLLLSHIT!"

"ARE YOU QUITE DONE?!" Dracula screamed.

"NO, BUT I'LL HOLD BACK SO COACH CAN TALK MORE!" Phanty screamed back through her megaphone cone, sounding as cheerful as ever. In truth, Phanty herself was also angry at the old bat. Cheating and kidnapping were wrong, she believed. As was cursing innocent people. One tactic she knew very well how to utilize was deliberately being annoying. It wasn't too difficult. All she had to do was be herself! Well, be more of herself, so to speak… That usually got easy results, such as right now, judging from the blood-red face of Dracula.

"This is, like, going to take a while… So, I managed to fix my car, but of course, I'm behind. And then, like, here come the traps. And then some detours. Like, he had a pair of these hunchbacked minions try to derail us a lot. Scrappy and Googie ended up, like, being used as bait a couple of times. Some magic spells. The other racers, of course, tried to stop me a few times. Hmm… I feel like I forgot something… Either way, we all could've died plenty of times there. I'm just glad that I, like, kept being myself when I was a werewolf. I was a little worried that I might, ya know… go savage or something." Shaggy recalled, remembering the frantic mess that was trying to win a biased race while trying to get used to a new form. Enhanced sight, superior hearing, excellent sense of smell... Kind of disorienting at first. But obviously, he had adapted.

"Jinkies! What a mess. But I assume you did win. I mean, you wouldn't be here if you hadn't." Velma deduced.

"Barely, but yeah. Unfortunately, somebody was a sore loser…" Shaggy said, sending Dracula a hard look of his own. "Dracula refused to hold up his end of the deal. Like, claimed he 'had his fangs crossed' when he made the deal, just in case I actually did win."

"He is the dreaded Lord of Vampires, after all. Did you expect anything less, Shaggy?" Elsa asked, not surprised by the elder vampire's chicanery. Neither were the rest of the perturbed Ghouls, although Sibella was notably further disappointed.

Shaggy smiled. "And that's why we stole his damn book and, like, made a run for it!" he said as he and Scooby burst out laughing. The Ghouls were surprised at this. Blatant stealing to counter blatant cheating! Certainly unexpected of someone of Shaggy's laid-back, nervous attitude, but that sounded like a bit of poetic justice. Phanty and Elsa had a good laugh at the idea of getting away with something. Tanis giggled at trying to picture Dracula's reaction to the theft. Sibella and Winnie both had the same smug 'Serves you right' smile on their face.

Even Mystery Inc. had to chuckle at the strangeness of it. Shaggy, their resident coward, facing a powerful being's screwjob by 'pulling a Red Herring' and stealing. When in Rome… Or rather, when in Transylvania. Shaggy continued. "Like, Dracula chased us all the way back to America in his bat-copter, he was so pissed off! Thankfully, Googie found the counterspell to the werewolf curse and we managed to lose Dracula. Well, all the way until today, I guess…"

"And you vould've kept avoiding me if it vasn't for you and these meddling Ghouls!" Dracula snapped, ready to deal with the matter he came for, now that story time was over. (Author's Note: You all knew a variation of the Meddling Kids line had to be in here somewhere!)

"Ahem…" It was quiet, Sibella's little clearing of her throat. Quiet, yet audible. And telling, as the other four Ghouls knew what that meant: Trouble. "Father, you have no right to threaten anybody. Not after what you did to poor Shaggy."

"Poor Shaggy? _POOR _Shaggy?! Oh, vy don't ve all just have a pity party for that twig of a vorthless human! He humiliated me! He stole from me! He puts these awful ideas about humans in your head! He brings you all to the human realm, vhere you could all be discovered and killed at any time! Do you have any idea vat I've been through to find you, my dear Sibella?! I've been shot at! I've been stabbed! I've been hunted! I got lost! Town after town after stupid town! I got into a shouting match vith some cocky half-demon! I had to deal vith some deranged immortal hell-spawn at some abandoned summer camp! I lost count of how many mindless, vapid idiots became 'travel snacks' for me because they got on my nerves! I even encountered some schmuck vith a chainsaw for a hand! CHAINSAW! FOR A HAND! Oh, I wish I could forget the vorst of it… I even read human 'tabloids' in a failed attempt to find out more about this Mystery Inc. I cannot comprehend the drivel this species comes up with! Ugh…!"

Dracula paused, his fists trembling at the memory of his tumultuous trip. "Now, Sibella, we are going home and Mr. Shaggy shall pay for this injustice." he declared, surprising everyone by rapidly getting close to Shaggy and grabbing him by the neck before anybody could say anything. "Embarrass me once, shame on you. Seduce my daughter… shame on you again."

"NO!" Everyone shouted, but two distinct voices were clearer than the others. Dracula was suddenly driven back a couple of feet by two forces, letting the friendly foodie drop back down to the ground. Getting his bearings, he looked at the sight before him, which was accentuated by a pleased Phanty and her traffic cone…

"Gather 'round everyone and witness the debonair devastation of such exquisite sophistication! Sibella Dracula! Winnie Werewolf! The…. uhh…. I don't have an idea for a team name yet!" Phanty announced, thrilled by the outcome. The sins of the father seem to be coming back to 'bite' him, pun fully intended.

Indeed, the vampiress and the werewolf had both leaped in and socked Dracula to protect Shaggy. This had gone too far. The nerve of that vampire… First, forcing a human to take part in his demented road race under penalty of a curse, then seeking vengeance upon the same human for supposedly 'corrupting' Sibella.

"Dracula…" Sibella spat, no longer using the patriarchal title that she had respectfully used for him since childhood. The elder vampire hearing her say his surname was like a slap to the face, knowing the significance of this change. "You dare come here and threaten someone I care for?"

"WE care for, that is." Winnie corrected, her predatory leer not straying from Dracula, claws out and teeth bared.

"And for what? Some silly vendetta over your middle-aged hobby?! And your draconian bigotry against humanity?! And you dare call yourself the 'Lord of Vampires'…! You used to mean something! Now look at you… Stumbling across America like a damn fool because you think I don't know better, that I can't look out for myself! Let me tell you something, Dracula…" she growled, marching over toward the fallen Shaggy and helping him up to his feet with little effort before putting an arm around him, bringing herself close to him. Shaggy, surprised, blushed at the fact that she was practically pressing herself against him. Dracula scowled at the display, but didn't dare to attack again. Not with Winnie still keeping a sharp eye (and claw) on him…

"This human cares about me more than you do now! He's understanding! He's smart in his own way! He's funny! Well, when he's not trying… He's courageous…deep down! And, unlike you, he's honest and lets me be myself! He doesn't mind that I have certain needs as a vampire! Meanwhile, what about you? You expect me to go home at your whim after I find out that you forced someone dear to me into a near-death situation just to satisfy your midlife crisis?! As a human saying goes, PISS OFF!" Funny thing about vampiric abilities: They seem to go off when emotions run high. Dracula had been known to throw fireballs as one of his many combat abilities… Not surprisingly, it seems to run in the family, as the purple woman's free arm suddenly felt hot. She had the sudden urge to swing her hand toward Dracula. So she made like she was throwing a haymaker punch in Dracula's direction, only to see a purple fireball shoot forward, cover the distance between the two vampires, and hit Dracula right in the chest, burning him and scorching some of his outfit while forcing him down on his back like he got hit with a cannonball.

"Like, holy shit!" Shaggy said out loud. Was that a new ability?

"Yo, 'Bella, that's AWESOME! Fire punch! Aw, man, I'm howlin' for an ability like that! Burning Claw! No, how about Blazing Fang! Naw, that's not punching, that's biting… Inferno Fist! Hmm… Sounds too much like something for a Fire Elemental… Still, SWEET!" Winnie couldn't contain her amazement. Nobody was expecting Sibella to start throwing fireballs. When did she learn that?

Phantasma, however, was a little preoccupied with taunting the burned Dracula… "You think we tolerate your microaggressions here, you old bat!? You're racist against humans! That's not PC, brah! Get the hell out! Who do you think you are, perpetuating negative human stereotypes to oppress them!? Don't make us throw down! We will totally CRUSH you, brah!" she berated through her cone as Dracula stirred and tried to swat at the nearby ghost.

"Uh, who let Phanty watch the new South Park?" Fred asked, finding it pretty surreal for a ghost to yell at Dracula himself about Political Correctness. The idea kind of sounds like it'd make for some bad modern-day art or something.

"I don't know, but it's pretty funny, considering." Daphne answered in between laughs. "You might say that Dracula's being 'roasted' today! HA! Get it? Roasted? 'Cause he was hit with a fireball and now we're making fun of him…? Right…?"

The others nearby just looked at her, a combination of raised eyebrows and unimpressed groans. If it weren't for Phanty's boisterous yammering, one could argue that they could practically hear crickets in response to the redhead's attempt at a joke. "Uhh, Daph? You sure now's the best time for jokes? For all we know, Sibella might have just made Dracula angry instead of actually harming him." Fred pointed out in his best impression of Captain Obvious.

"Even with his supposed mid-life crisis… or is it 'mid-death crisis'?... He's not the Lord of Vampires for nothing. We had all better be careful from now on." Elsa said, refusing to take her studious gaze off of the fallen elder vampire, who had managed to sit up and give Phantasma a few punches (which failed due to her transparency). Velma had to agree with her fellow brainiac's assessment. But, as it would turn out, their concerns might not matter…

Sibella, with Shaggy still in her arm, marched over to her father and the taunting specter, her amazement about her new ability giving way to her fury about Dracula's deeds and her desire to prove her point. With a callousness that a vampire could truly excel at, she placed a booted foot on Dracula's scorched chest and kicked him back down onto his back, surprising their audience and making Shaggy nervous as Dracula roared in pain and anger. His own daughter had struck him twice now. Sweet, gentle Sibella….

'Like, Sibella, what're ya doin'?!" Shaggy was so frightened, he almost squeaked. His pretty student guided him over, placed her foot on Dracula's chest again in an attempt to hold him down, and looked down upon the vampire, her face lost in between anger and sorrow. She had respected her father, what his title meant, and how he used to be when she was just a little bat. That image was forever shattered in her mind…

She spoke again. "Yes, I know humanity isn't perfect nor superior. That's not what this is about. And Shaggy would never claim that. He never has. If he truly had some sort of grudge against you for what you've done and wanted to use me to exact revenge, he had plenty of opportunity at the school. But he didn't. He didn't even show much fear toward me when he found out my lineage. No, he just accepted me as I was. Well, once he got used to the school, anyway… It's an adjustment for most humans, obviously. But that's beside the point.

"My circle of friends has always been relatively small. Do you know why…?" Sibella paused, giving her old man a moment to think. Her foot dug into his chest slightly, the pain bringing his attention back toward her. "Because of the power your name alone has. Nobody wants Lord Dracula after them. Not if they want to keep existing… So most would treat me like a stuffy princess. All formality, nothing personal, just business… People too afraid of the 'wrath of Sibella's father'… I'm sure you might recall some of the social gatherings you brought me to when I was younger… I didn't want formal acquaintances. I wanted friends. Real friends. People that wanted to know the real me. The best decision you made concerning me was sending me to Grimwood's school." She glanced over at the now-quiet Phantasma and then her friends a short distance away. "I found real friends…"

"Aww… How sweet! Thank you, Sibella…" Phantasma cut in briefly, a genuine not-so-loopy smile on her face. "I think I needed that."

Grinning at Phanty, the purple woman then turned her head toward the young man she had an arm around, her speech still directed at the father under her boot. "As for Shaggy… As much as I wanted to wait until a right time, I must confess. He has come to mean more to me than just a good mentor and friend… In a way, you brought this on, Dracula. A bit of motivation, if you will…"

Winnie had an idea where this was going. "Aw, 'Bella, c'mon! What about my feelings?!" she groaned. A part of her did want to be the first to confess to Shaggy. But, at this point, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion, another thing to blame Sibella's bat-shit father over… Still, she could express herself anyway. It wasn't like the private fashion show they gave him at the mall was something people wanting to give the 'let's just be friends' card do anyway...

Shaggy, his face red as he remembered the mental daydreaming he had the previous night, also had a feeling as to what the young vampire was getting at. Did he dare to hope? What about the other Ghouls? Was this even right? He has just about enough of the questions and the doubts. Not to mention, his conflicting questions were slightly outmatched by his awkward fear about the fact that a superpowered overprotective father was currently in a fit of rage right beneath him, even though Dracula didn't (or maybe couldn't?) try to fight his way out from under Sibella's foot.

Dracula couldn't believe what he was hearing. His own offspring, infatuated with a pathetic, cowardly little worm like Shaggy?! His mind worked overtime. This had to be the human's revenge, wasn't it? Seducing his kin, polluting her mind with weak and foolish ideas, thus diminishing the strength of his pureblood legacy for possibly generations! The ultimate insult on top of turning her against him! If it weren't for the searing pain from her quite impressive fireball, he'd have already wrested her foot off of him and lunged for the man's jugular right then.

"Like, what are you trying to say, Sibella?" Shaggy asked timidly, trying to ignore the guttural snarls of his apparent nemesis below. Sibella, with a smile, looked into her crush's eyes. No, not to use her influence. She just wanted to look at them. "While I would have liked it if you would make the first move, it is apparent that certain factors make that near impossible. However, I hear it is a different time than those stuffy old social norms… Therefore, Shaggy, I wish to ask you… to be my mate."

Right after she said that, before the Ghouls or Mystery Inc. could react to the vampiress' intentions, a howl of fury came from the foe beneath them. Not caring about the pain anymore, Dracula grabbed the offending leg and heaved upward, throwing his daughter off-balance, causing her to lose her grip on Shaggy and fall over onto the ground. With a speed born of anger and vampiric strength, Dracula pushed himself to his feet despite being on his back and grabbed Shaggy by the neck again, lifting him up so his feet couldn't touch the ground.

"I vill not have this abomination go on any further! I vin this var, you sniveling coward!" Dracula snarled right in Shaggy's face. He had expected to see fear, desperation, maybe even smell a humiliating hint of human urine from the man pissing his pants. But there was none of this. To Dracula's annoyed confusion, the human looked...insulted?

"Like, look, man…" Shaggy managed to say over the powerful grip on his throat. "You can, like, say all you want to me and try to beat me up all ya want. You're mad at me. You got powers. I don't. Like, I get that… I totally get that. But…" Shaggy coughed. "You don't hurt Sibella and, like, get away with it, you blood-guzzling piece of shit!" he said as loud as he could before bringing a fist at Dracula's face.

Out of all the surprises this encounter brought forth, perhaps this was the most surreal. Shaggy, one of the friendliest souls one could meet, laid-back, carefree, wouldn't hurt a fly… had gotten mad enough to actually throw a punch and call somebody a vulgarity. Fred, Velma, and Daphne certainly wouldn't forget that moment. Tanis wanted to cry, seeing her idol gasping for air, powerless against the angry Dracula. But seeing him try to struggle, angry more at Dracula throwing Sibella down rather than his own troubles… It inspired her. She knew she set her heart on the right person. His attempted defense of Sibella was more proof of how right she was.

Of course, his punch did nothing. But Shaggy, hanging there as the vampire held him up with one hand and cutting off most of his ability to breathe, kept swinging his fist anyway. "You're… not… hurting… her… I… like… won't… let… you…" he gasped, one word for each attempted punch. If Shaggy wanted to know what it was like to punch something like, say, a Terminator, this would pretty much be it, his fist meeting flesh that would not budge.

Seeing the dreadful sight before her, Sibella was horrified. She had to do something before Dracula decided to stop toying with her new mate. She knew that he was hers when she heard what he had said. Having nothing to back himself up against Dracula, he still stood up for her without a second thought. She would be damned if Shaggy paid the price for his act. Could she throw another fireball? No… Her father would probably be cruel enough to use Shaggy as a meat shield. Straight up attack? Risky… Couldn't he just snap his neck and be done with it with that one hand? Her influence? On her stronger father? That's a laugh…

"Vatch, daughter, as I extinguish the life of this cockroach and prove that ve are superior!" Dracula declared with a spiteful chuckle.

Sibella almost started to panic. Until she saw them… Slow-moving, low to the ground, whisper quiet… They snuck up behind the elder vampire like hunting snakes. White bandages… Sibella was taken aback but would not show any major sign of having seen them, lest her father was keeping an eye on her face in his current bravado. She expected Winnie to lunge at him already. In truth, the werewolf was indeed angry enough to have gone feral, but she was cautious in her rage. One false leap and she might end up goring her intended mate instead… Winnie was slowly moving about, crouched on all fours, waiting for Dracula to drop his guard…

Phantasma, as much as she wanted to help her favorite playmate, knew she couldn't do much. What could she do? Yell at him to death? She STILL had all that firearm ammunition, but what good would that do without guns? The hyper ghost was a frazzled pile of nerves as she paced back and forth in worry until she too saw the animated bandages make their way toward the evil entity. No way…

The two lines of bandages stopped one foot behind Dracula's feet, as if pondering what to do. Then, like cobras, they rose up and up and up until they reached the height of his head. "Keep punching avay, Mr. Shaggy. Your defiance is amusing, you miserable little pile of secrets. You are not vorthy of my daughter. You are not even vorth cleaning her shoes. But since she enjoys you so much, I might consider reanimating your corpse as her head servant. Mindless, of course." Dracula gloated, almost beginning to enjoy himself. He was finally getting what he had come for. It felt… good. Great, even. Nothing could stop him now!

"Leave him alone!" Sibella cried desperately, mainly to keep his attention on what's in front of him. 'C'mon, Tanis… Don't back out now. The element of surprise may be our only chance.' she thought as tears rolled down her eyes at seeing her love's punches begin to weaken, consciousness fading…

Then, like rattlesnakes, the bandages struck, rapidly circling around his eyes and neck, blinding him and leashing him at the same time. The sudden loss of vision was indeed more than enough to lose focus, causing him to lose some of his grip on Shaggy. That's when Sibella took her turn. Rushing in, she quickly grabbed her hanging mate and firmly pulled him out of the evil vampire's hand, using her vampiric strength to carry him away.

That was Winnie's cue to pounce. And pounce she did! Landing upon the corrupt legend like a ten ton anvil made of fur and claws, the redhead proceeded to punch and scratch and gnaw at her best friend's father like there was no tomorrow. With the rustling around that Winnie did in the process, poor Tanis would probably have a huge project of rebandaging herself after this was said and done… But the mummy kept Dracula blind and leashed. For Shaggy's sake, she would not let go, not by choice… Shaggy's kindness would be repaid, Ra damn it!

Unfortunately, as they were merely bandages, they eventually got cut at some point, probably due to an errant swipe of claws from Winnie. Understandable, with her feral rage going… Winnie pushed herself off of Dracula by kicking off of his chest, hard. Right in the burn… Painful. The now-bloodied vampire cursed the entire group, preparing fireballs of his own to toss. Suddenly, a long metal pipe came swinging at him. He caught it with both hands with ease and glared at his assailant. Elsa Frankenteen, the cobbled-together daughter of Frankenstein.

"Hello." Elsa simply said, cool, calm, and collected. "Daddy sends his regards." she added before her body generated a powerful amount of electricity which quickly traveled through the pipe and electrifying the vile bat where he stood.

"Yeah! Suck it Blanka-style, bitch!" the newly-discovered gamer in Winnie taunted as the electricity ran roughshod though the vampire, enough voltage for his skeleton to somehow be seen as if this was some sort of slapstick cartoon.

Phanty, meanwhile, had an idea. That in itself was liable to mean trouble. But as out-there as her idea was, her heart was in the right place. She had to help her teacher, just as he helped her and inspired her creativity. So, when Elsa finally relented her attack and backed off, leaving a barely-moving, stunned, charred Dracula standing there, Phanty stealthily went behind him and very, VERY carefully phased a couple of objects through his clothing so that they were under them. She hoped the pain he was already in would mask the presence of the newly-placed objects for her plan… Invisibly, she flew over to Sibella, who had placed the weakened Shaggy down on the ground by Fred, Velma, Scooby, and Daphne.

"Sibella?" Phanty asked, reappearing in front of her. "I know you just got this, but… I need a fireball. I got something going and I need your help."

"Uh… I'm not sure, Phantasma. I didn't even know I had that in me…" the purple woman replied, shrugging, her gaze not leaving Shaggy's face as he groaned and mumbled in unconsciousness.

"Please? I need it and it'll really help teach the bad bat a lesson. Here's what we do. I get him to turn his back to you, you shoot it at his lower back. That's all. You'll see why. It'll be awesome! Ok? OK!" she said quickly before disappearing, supposedly to float back over near the still-dazed enemy. Sibella sighed, standing back up. She supposed at this point, it wouldn't hurt to see if she can call forth the fire at will.

She focused…

Dracula could withstand a lot. That was obvious. He was practically immortal. Still, that didn't mean he could take anything and come out unscathed. These brats… He underestimated their training… What kind of school was Grimwood? As the electrically-induced pain began to lessen and his bearings slowly returned, he began thinking of murderous ways of dealing with these wild women as he glared at the group across from him… Morbid ways… Sadistic ways… Funtime was over! It was then that he was interrupted by… random singing? Behind him?

"_She turned away, what was she looking at? _

_She was a sour girl the day that she met me. _

_Hey… What are you looking at? _

_She was a happy girl the day that she left me. _

_She turned away, what was she looking at? _

_She was a sour girl the day that she met me._

_Hey…. What are you… looking at…?_

_She was a… happy girl when she left me!"_

His aching body wasn't as fast, but still, the way he slowly turned toward the musical ghost gave a menacing vibe to him, as if he could not, no, WOULD not take one more source of annoyance this day. The ghost was cluelessly singing away, just five feet away from him, dancing to the beat that her music player provided via headphones as Stone Temple Pilots provided her the music.

He raised a hand. Maybe a burst of power would shut this wretch up. He felt the power build in his hand. Yes, this loud epitome of irritation would be the first to go. And he would savor it so.

More searing pain struck his back and ass as a thousand degrees of heat slammed into his back. Seconds later, the pain suddenly became even more intense as mini-explosions went off. His back felt ripped to shreds as little objects shot out from his chest and torso, but what was worse was that he felt like he literally had no ass whatsoever… He fell forward, landing on his face, bloody no-ass up… Funny… The explosions sounded like… gunfire?

Phantasma burst out laughing. "OH MY GAWD! That went better than I thought it would! HA! Way to go, Sibella! Ya literally blew his ass up!" she cheered before losing herself to fits of laughter, pointing a mocking finger at the broken villain. "Mama said knock you out! We busted about 20 caps in your ass!"

"Wha…? What the…? What the hell was that, Phanty?!" Sibellla shrieked. She thought she was merely gonna burn him again. Not blow a part of her father off! Sure, he went way over the line and she was angry at him and would be for a long while, but still…

Phanty floated over to them, still laughing. "Aw, man. Ya see that? That… is comedy justice right there. A box of handgun bullets to the back. A box of shotgun shells to the ass. That plus fire plus point-blank range equals one hell of a way to shut up a force of evil, am I right, people?! Damn, I'm glad I kept forgetting to unload those bullets I stole!"

Winnie stared at the damage, half in awe, half in horror. "Duuude… We gotta remind ourselves to NEVER get Phantasma angry at us… Ever. I don't give a crap that she saved all our asses." she said seriously, before snickering at her own choice of words.

"Jinkies…" Velma said, wanting to be appalled by the bloody way that Dracula was dealt with, but all things considered and calculated (like Velma tends to do), she could only be impressed. "You all just defeated the legendary Lord of Vampires. An icon of horror and macabre, a force of power... rendered unconscious by his own daughter and the next generation of famous monsters."

"To be fair…" Sibella began, still nonplussed by the ghost girl's gruesome idea. But then, she smiled. "He was in the middle of a mid-death crisis…"

"Oh, don't discount yourselves, ladies." Daphne said, relieved that nobody was going to die this day. "You did great out here! Well, for battle, anyway… I'm not much for fighting, per se… But I'd say that was pretty good. You saved Shaggy's life, nobody died… Hell, there's not even a lot of property damage. Just a little yard work and it's like nothing happened."

"Reah! Rou rock!" Scooby agreed, giving his own version of a thumbs-up.

"Besides, we know it wasn't Dracula being middle-aged that cost him…" Fred added in a knowing tone and a sly smirk. Sibella grew flustered. "I… well… that is… umm…" Her stammering was cut short by a yank of her long hair from Winnie.

"Aw, cut it out, 'Bella. No shame in speaking out now. Hell, I love Shaggy too and I'd like nothing more than for him to give this dog a bone, if ya know what I mean. There. I said it. No regrets." The werewolf said, trying to look as cool as possible, despite looking like she rolled around in dry dirt all day.

"Try telling that to him when he's awake." Sibella retorted as she kneeled back down to the now-sleeping foodie and gently ran a hand through his hair. She could see bruises on his neck. The hand that he punched Dracula's rock-hard (to humans) face repeatedly with would be quite sore as well, if the blood coming from the knuckles was any indication. The poor brave man…

"I will, Sibella. Count on it." Winnie said, not as a threat, but as a promise between friends. Despite her usual rough demeanor, she did take her best friendship with the blood-drinker seriously. She did not want to fight with her about this. Much…

"Count me in too!" Phanty said, excitedly. Daphne rolled her eyes, but smirked anyway. Of course Phantasma would jump in.

"Umm… Well…" Elsa muttered, not sure what to say. She felt easier around technology than around discussing such a thing to people, understandably. "I'm… interested too…"

Tanis raised a bare hand, her arm bandages still scattered about from her contribution. "You all… want Shaggy too? Wow…." She felt her face go red. "I thought it was just me, Sibella, and Winnie that wanted to….mate with him… Oh, now what am I to do?!" she gasped as she began quickly pulling in her bandages manually, feelings of embarrassment and nervousness creeping in again as she imagined herself being left out of the picture.

"Jinkies…" Velma said to herself. Shaggy was apparently a little TOO good at being a teacher. That certainly explained some of the more unusual observations she had of the inhuman females when they were around Shaggy. After all, they were supposed to be teacher and students. But leave it to an unexpected factor to throw off the entire equation, yet provide the answers at the same time. She had some more material for her monster research. Observations, theories, possible notes on how monster relationships work…

"And here I thought I was the ladies' man…" Fred grumbled, the blond finding it to be quite the shocker that the food-crazy slacker would somehow have women chasing after him like he was some movie star hunk.

"Oh, Fred, that was your ego talking." shot Daphne, knuckling him in the arm with a playful punch.

"Whatever. So… anybody know what we're gonna do with King Assless Chaps over there?" he asked to everyone in general. Just in time too, since police sirens began to be audible in the not-too-far distance….and getting closer. They ventured to guess that somebody complained about a lot of yelling and explosions… Not good!

"Cheese it, the cops!" Phantasma dramatically said, hamming it up.

"And we're stuck with the body? Shit… They're not gonna believe that he's just gonna be unconscious for a few weeks…or years, rather." Winnie grumbled, kicking a random pebble across the yard.

Soon enough, a cop car screeched to a halt. Although, the screech sounded a little too long, almost as if it was some hot-shot cocky guy driving the car and wanted to look cool when stopping. Sure enough, the cop car in question smacked into the front gate of Mystery Inc Apartments, side first. It was apparently trying to drift into a parking spot like a stylish stunt in action movies. And failed miserably, of course. The front gates fell down as the car's engine and sirens were cut off. The car door opened.

Mystery Inc rolled their eyes at their luck. Busted for murder by some rookie donut-chaser… Daphne thought that the cop inside probably holds his gun sideways when aiming 'because it's cool'. Cue rolling of eyes… The car's occupant stepped out of the vehicle. It was evident by the plain outfit that this guy clearly wasn't a cop at all. Reaching back in, he pulled out a double-barrel shotgun. Winnie's keen vision could tell that one of his hands was fake... which was proven anyway when he holstered the shotgun, took the hand off….and replaced it with a chainsaw. Dracula's words of "Chainsaw! For a hand!" came to mind…

The man marched in with a purpose… and stopped soon after upon seeing the slumped-over, beaten, burned, ass-less, and knocked-the-hell-out Dracula. "Well… Would you look at that?" Ash Williams said aloud. "Somebody got that stick outta your ass the hard way, buddy. Heh…" Kneeling down and taking a closer look at the charred meat that was the remains of the vampires ass, he noticed something… reached in… and pulled out a couple of bloody, spent shotgun shell casings. "And they even used my method too! I'm liking whoever did this!"

Standing back up, he took a look around and noticed the small group of oddly assorted people. "Hey! Hi, how ya doin'? This your place? Great. Listen, uhh… Truth is I've been looking for this damn douchebag all day. I went to a bar, there was this fight, this guy was there… Gave me a really hard time, you see? So the bartender tells me he was headed to this very town. So, I figured a good plan would be to… well, come to Coolsville and follow the noise. What better way than following police chatter, right? I tell ya, I never expected to see this, though. Hot damn, what'd he do to piss you guys off?" he asked, pretty casual-like.

The group of humans and ghouls looked to each other, unsure of how to respond to this. "Ah, I see." Ash said after a few moments. "The chainsaw makes you uneasy. Yeah, I get that a lot." he admits, casually liftimg the bulky idle weapon. "Well, relax. Nobody's getting sliced and diced today. Uh… If ya want, I could take this exploded asshole off your hands. Ya know, before the REAL boys in blue show up and poke around…?" he asked, nodding toward the fallen vampire.

A part of Sibella thought there is a better way of getting her father out of the way of prying eyes. But then she looked down at her newfound mate… "Yes, you may dispose of him however you wish, Mr…?" Sibella trailed off, hinting a request for an introduction.

"Just call me a traveling exterminator. But if you insist, lovely lady, call me Ash." he replied, a cocksure smirk to go with his attitude. Who cares if she's purple? This could be interesting.

Sibella had heard that kind of tone before, sadly from the Calloway Cadets... She chuckled in amusement before answering. "I'm flattered, but already taken, Mr. Ash."

"Crap… Ah well. Perhaps one of your lady friends might wanna…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid we all have a boyfriend. Although, Velma overe here is single…" Sibella pointed out in a teasing manner, causing the nerdy brown-haired woman to gasp in indignation. Ash took a good look at the resident genius.

"Hmm… You've got that 'sexy nerd' thing going on. At least from what I can tell. Feel free to ditch the baggy sweater for something a little more showy. For all we know, ya might be hiding some killer sweater puppies." Ash advised, believing himself to be turning on the charm.

Velma harrumphed, her face red with awkward embarrassment. "Thanks, but I'll decide my own fashions, if you don't mind…" It was this kind of thing that became the reason why she always wore very baggy shirts. Not because she was ashamed of her voluptuous figure. She just preferred not to be bothered by jerks that go ape over the sight of a good pair of boobs… A part of her envied the Grimwood Ghouls for having feelings for one of the very few truly good guys that Velma knew.

"Alright, then. Time for me to go and finish Bat Boy's colonoscopy." Ash said, nonchalantly. Inside, he was bummed that he couldn't get himself some tail. Was he not irresistible to the ladies? With his one good hand, he grabbed Dracula's unconscious body by a leg and started dragging it toward the hastily-parked police cruiser. This was how far Dracula's reign has fallen, an icon such as him being dragged through the dirt and grass by a Deadite Hunter who wasn't even part of the fight.

Sibella and her friends realized this as they watched her insane father be thrown into the cruiser's trunk. But nobody minded it at all. As far as they were concerned, Sibella was now the superior Dracula, the young coming into her time to replace the old. If that were to be actually the case, there would be some changes put into effect back in Transylvania… But right now, that was neither here nor there.

After a wave farewell (using his chainsaw hand), the strange man known as Ash climbed into his stolen cruiser, started the car, and took off, the car unwedging itself from the slightly damaged front gateway. Daphne sighed. "Make that some light yard work and some wall repair, I suppose."

Velma kneeled down next to Sibella, who had cradled Shaggy's head on her lap. "You sure it's alright for that guy to just take off with your father?" she asked, understanding the cold, dismissive way she gave the strange man permission.

"As long as he doesn't get a stake to the heart, he'll recover. Might take up to a year for his body to regenerate from such damage. Nonetheless, it shall serve him right for what he has done and what he tried to do. The weirder the situation he ends up in, the better for me." Sibella said with finality as she ran her hand through his hair, a jealous Winnie standing nearby and watching.

"Ouch." Velma replied, knowing that kind of tone anywhere. Lord Dracula won't be getting any Christmas cards from his daughter for quite some time!

The first thing Shaggy felt as he came back into consciousness was a headache. Groaning in pain, he couldn't help but notice the heavy scent of... well, he couldn't tell exactly what it was. It wasn't food, which he was obviously an expert on. It smelled…feminine. If he had to guess, he would have said it was perhaps lavender. Opening his eyes revealed nothing but a hell of a lot of purple. Just purple, like something was mere inches from his face. He tried to sit up but he couldn't get much of anywhere due to his head bumping into something soft but solid. Two soft somethings… Wait a minute. Purple…?

"Mmmuhh… Wha…?" was heard, followed by the sea of purple in his vision pulling back, revealing Sibella's upper half, looking very tired and worn. Apparently, she still had Shaggy's head on her lap but she had gotten tired during the hours she spent waiting and passed out, her body slumping forward over him. It looked to Shaggy like they were in Sibella's room. "Shaggy?"

"Like, yeah Sibella?" he replied, groaning again as his head throbbed again. "Ugh… What happened…?"

"My mate, you're awake!" the young vampire said with joy, pulling Shaggy up her body a bit and turning him to face her to give him a hug. The foodie was surprised by the sudden contact as well as what she called him, before remembering why he was knocked out to begin with. Dracula… Shaggy's ever-panicking mind began pondering how this moment came to be. Did the two of them somehow escape Dracula? Did the old bat think he had killed him and left? Did he kill off somebody and considered that revenge enough?

"Sibella, I…. Is everyone OK?" he asked, nervous as to what could have happened. Her response was to chuckle warmly and hold him a little tighter. "Yes, my love. We couldn't be better. Something fang-tastic happened out there. We Grimwood Ghouls… We beat him."

Shaggy's eyes opened wider, his headache forgotten. "Really? He's gone?" The young woman nodded, the joyful fanged smile growing. "Like, that's amazing! …How?" he asked as he felt Sibella's hands start to rub up and down his back while maintaining the hug. "You can thank our dear Phantasma for the idea. It was a little gruesome, but I do say that it got the job done."

"Dare I even ask?" snickered the lanky coward, knowing the idea had to be something far out. He was beginning to enjoy Sibella's hug/backrub, especially now that he was sure that they were safe. "Well… Let's just say that he won't be able to sit down for a very long time. And now that he's gone…" she trailed off, Shaggy noticing a strange look in her eyes. One that he found to be very interesting… He wasn't sure what it was at that point, but a part of him admitted that he wanted to see that look again and again.

But still, something was nagging at him…

"Like, whoa… Sibella! Umm… What about, like, the others?" Shaggy asked, noticing her grip on him tightening and her face coming closer to his. "It is evening now, dearest Shaggy. Fred, Daphne, and Velma are in their apartments. Scooby's sleeping on his doggie bed…. Oh… Did you mean the Ghouls?"

Shaggy nodded. "I don't think it's right to, like, dance around the issue. I know you all like me… I admit, like, I'm kinda unsure as to why. I mean, I know what you've hinted at and what you've told me about what I've done, but…"

"You are worried that we would become jealous of each other with lots of bickering and arguing while you feel like, if you did indulge in all of us, you would be no better than, what you humans call, 'street pimps' using us like sexual objects while others look down on you for… 'being a misogynistic pig', yes?" Sibella interrupted, her question throwing Shaggy off guard. The vampire could get straight to the point right away when she wanted to.

"Like, basically, yeah… Something like that." Sibella shook her head and tsked at her hapless lover. She couldn't blame him, what with the concept of monogamy being an extremely dominant mentality of mating in human culture. Some monsters followed that way as well, so she had heard. But not all and not to the letter like humans…

"While you were resting, we Ghouls had a discussion in private about things that have been said out there. A long discussion. There were concerns and questions, yes. And, bat-urally, Winnie raised a little fuss. But not much. She actually came to understand sooner than expected. Elsa was a little anxious but excited. I think she wants to treat this like a new experiment… Phanty loves it, of course. And little Tanis, sickeningly-sweet dear that she is, was awkwardly hesitant but agreed to give it a try." Sibella paused. Shaggy wasn't sure if he liked the pensive expression she wore. He knew there was a point to this and he had a guess. But he had to hear it for himself.

"Like, give what a try?"

The purple woman seemed to straighten her posture (while keeping her arms around him) and softly cleared her throat before speaking, an aristocratic vibe to her voice. "From now on, Shaggy Rogers, you are no longer our teacher and coach, for we are graduated young women with no need of high school education. That link is now formally severed. In its place, as we decided, shall be a new link that, if all goes well, shall be permanent. Starting now, you are now officially the consort, mate, general plaything, partner-in-undeath, or to put it basically, boyfriend to all five of us." She finished by capturing his lips with hers in a kiss that she had wanted to give for a very long time.

Shaggy would later wish that he could have given her a better first kiss and first make-out session than just freezing up from shock. After all, he suddenly had five women to try and keep happy. Knowing they were interested was one thing, a sudden group decision while he was unconscious was quite another. Sibella, ever the understanding vampire, didn't mind. She just considered it part of his goofy, boyish charm.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Wow. That was quick work. Well, quicker than the progress I usually make. As I might have mentioned before here (if not here, I did mention it in my other works), inspiration is usually a hit-or-miss affair with me, thus I don't usually update as quickly as this. But ideas for this confrontation just kept coming and I just kept typing! I hope I made this to be as awesome as I think I did.

Was I heavy on references? Let's see if people recognize some of the more subtle ones I threw in. I don't think I included a million of 'em, but there were a few, other than the obvious ones I pointed out (Stone Temple Pilots, the second appearance of Ash). Review! Review! Review! Oh, and don't forget to tell me what ya thought of the chapter as well, of course. That's kinda important! Lol.

Speaking of reviews, now that the awaited confrontation between Team Shaggy and Dracula is over and Shaggy got the girl…uh…girls, the question remains… Where do I go from here? Dating hijinks? Some new opposition to Shaggy going interspecies? What the Ghouls do now that they're graduated? Any and all thoughts and opinions are welcome.

POLL ALERT! My poll about whether or not to include The Hex Girls in the story (and whether or not to include them in Shaggy's newfound harem) is still active. Feel free to vote on it if you haven't already!

Reader Review Replies:

Sgt. M00re – Well, you'll be pleased to see I delivered just that in this chapter!

Karlos1234ify – I already can't wait for Season 2 of Ash Vs. Evil Dead. But we're probably gonna be stuck waiting until next Halloween for that… Hmm… Truth Or Dare? Could be interesting. Definite possibility.

Nightmaster000 – Well, somebody did make a second appearance here. Lol. As for lemons, as much as the idea appeals to me, I'm not sure if I can write a good sex scene that won't come across as poorly-written tripe. Know what I mean? I wonder if somebody might take that idea and write a Shaggy/Any Grimwood Ghouls lemon. This fandom needs more Shaggy/Ghouls, dammit! Still, I'll give it some thought.

Snakespur – Ya wanted more references, ya got 'em. Although, in this chapter, it's mostly the 'jokes/puns' kind of pop-culture references, rather than guest characters (Although Ash did return).

That ManX – Mission accomplished. Lol.

Kellybug – Yeah, looks like diplomacy failed, but thankfully, so did Dracula.

Mr. G – I bet you'll be glad that Dracula ends up with a lot more crap this chapter! Although, after this, he won't have to crap ever again for a long time… Ha!

The Keeper Of Worlds – Although I didn't include the Goblin King, I do hope that the ass-kicking was to your liking. Dracula probably will totally hate any and all ass jokes for a long time!

All Guests – Thanks for the reviews!


	9. Shaggy's Survival Guide To Dating

Disclaimer: I got nothin', dood. I'm just a lowly prinny. (Thumbs up to those that get the video game reference.) Don't own any songs or references or anything.

Chapter 9: Shaggy's Survival Guide To Dating Multiple Monsters

Shaggy couldn't recall the last time he had such a superb sleep. He really slept. The kind of sleep where you feel content with the world right when you wake up. As he came back to consciousness from his sleep, the first thing he felt was the weight of several things he couldn't see yet on him. The second was a small tugging of his flesh around the side of his neck. Recalling the shocking development he had gotten last night, he had a sneaking suspicion of what that tugging was…

Opening his eyes, he first saw the body of Elsa, laying on her back horizontally across his torso in a decidedly uncomfortable-looking position, their two bodies looking like a cross or a plus sign if they were to be seen from above and it had been just the two of them. The patchwork girl snored with a content, drooly smile on her face. Tilting his head to the left, his suspicion proved correct as he saw the thick purple mane of long hair that could only be his new consort, Sibella Rogers. (She was still angry at her batty father over all his actions concerning Shaggy, thus she wanted to dispose of her surname altogether. As a compromise, Shaggy convinced her to try his last name out temporarily before deciding to completely abandon the Dracula legacy.) Apparently, in her sleep, she had taken to sucking on his neck like a baby with a pacifier. For a vampire, Shaggy found that to be strangely cute, especially since she had been careful not to actually pierce the skin with her fangs.

Looking to his right, he noticed Tanis sleeping, the height-challenged woman holding his right arm close to her as she slumbered. Like Elsa, she was sporting a smile in her sleep, although hers lacked any sleep-induced drool. Movement was felt between his spread-out legs. Judging from the hint of red hair he saw past Elsa's body, he figured that Winnie had decided to act like a dog (or wolf, rather) and curl up at the foot of her "master's" bed (metaphorically speaking, since she preferred "mate" over "master").

That was four girlfriends. Where was Phantasma? He would have figured she would have loved to be close to him in bed as well. Turning his head again to look around, he heard a soft giggling. He paused. Did that sound like it came from beneath him? He moved his head to start looking around again, only to stop upon hearing more giggling. "Mmm…Hehehe… That tickles…." the ghost's sleepy voice mumbled.

Carefully turning his head far-right, he noticed that the pillow he was resting his head on had a familiar shade of blue with a dash of white… He sighed. He didn't expect Phantasma to serve as his pillow, nor did he feel that she had to do that. A certain someone must have heard him sigh or felt the turning of his head as Sibella's light sucking turned to playful nibbling, still careful to avoid accidentally biting him. He turned his head left and the nibbling stopped, Sibella's gaze was nothing less than pure seduction.

"Good morning, my love." she whispered. Shaggy didn't know how a whisper could sound sexy, but Sibella made that possible. "I do hope we were adequate sleeping companions. I know you certainly were to me. Mmm… Best sleep I ever had."

"Like, same here. Morning, Sibella." he whispered back, not sure if he should wake the others or not. It was clearly morning out, judging from the rays of sunshine flowing through the blind-covered window. Probably around 8, if he had to guess from the direction of the little bits of sun that got through the blinds. He wasn't sure. It felt like 8…

Purple arms slowly snaked around his neck and shoulders as the vampire drew closer to him, lips puckered. Having gotten mostly used to the idea, Shaggy only hesitated for a moment before leaning in, their lips meeting for a quick morning kiss. Still weird when literally surrounded by other women with feelings for him, but he was learning. And he liked kissing anyway. After a few moments, when Shaggy felt her tongue starting to really get to work, Sibella broke off the kiss, a giddy look on her face. A rare expression for a vampire.

"Mmm… Almost got carried away." she whispered, succeeding in turning on her intended groom-to-be. This caused a comical side effect to occur.

Elsa stirred, her slumber disturbed by the sounds of whispers and a firm something moving around beneath her and lightly poking her in the back. "...Ugh. 5 more minutes…" Elsa muttered sleepily as she tried adjusting her position. Her movement caused herself to slide a little across the bed, head-first. In turn, the firm something underneath the blanket that was Shaggy's hardened rod ended up pressing against her butt. Feeling that combined with remembering where she was caused her to open her eyes suddenly, looking toward Shaggy and Sibella. The vampire didn't know what happened, but Shaggy did.

"Uhh… Like, morning, Elsa." Shaggy whispered, not wanting to suddenly wake the others yet. The golem girl then remembered the events of the previous evening and smirked. "It seems you're already having a good morning, hunk." she whispered back with a wink. Sibella wasn't sure what she meant until she took a closer look at Elsa's body's position in comparison to the lump that was Shaggy's body underneath the blankets. "Err… You… felt that, huh?" she whispered.

Elsa nodded before slowly moving herself off of Shaggy and Sibella without waking Winnie or Tanis. Just as carefully, she moved so that she was lying on Shaggy, body to body, face to face, his dick now against where her crotch is, despite blankets and clothes. Her legs were spread out like Shaggy's to avoid disturbing the werewolf. "Now this is more comfy…" she muttered before giving her boyfriend a kiss of her own, the cowardly foodie reciprocating. For a girl that was cobbled together like her parents were, they must have gotten one hell of a good mouth to put on her. Boy, did THAT thought feel grossly-weird to think… But that didn't stop Shaggy. Elsa was Elsa, a woman in her own right. Sibella had to keep from giggling, seeing the brainy engineer of the group act like a woman in love, which was a first.

Thirty seconds into it, the kiss was interrupted when a small finger began poking Shaggy's cheek repeatedly. The laid-back mystery-solver looked to see an awake Tanis with a needy look of her own in her eyes. "Um… Morning, Shaggy… My turn…?" she timidly asked. The two other girls smiled as Elsa gently pushed Shaggy's head toward the mummy, playfully giving permission. Rolling with it at this point, Shaggy initiated the kiss this time, muffling her pleased squeak that was sure to awaken Winnie and Phanty.

Sibella sat up slowly, a mischievous side of her revealing itself with an idea. She reached over and lightly prodded at Winnie. The she-wolf lazily scratched at where Sibella poked her with a hand, almost like a canine would. Sibella prodded her again. "Mmm… Whassap…?" she slurred as she slowly woke up. "Winnie, ya might wanna take a look." Sibella answered, chuckling. The werewolf turned herself over and looked at the scene before her. Shaggy making out with Tanis. That instantly woke her up. "Awww! C'mon! I wanted to kiss him first today!" she groused.

She then noticed Elsa's position on him. "And you! Off! I wanna ride!" she ordered sternly. Elsa snickered at how upset she was getting and slid off, laying in between Shaggy and Sibella. The wolf girl would have gotten attention soon anyway. Winnie pounced and placed herself upon Shaggy's blanketed body, her crotch replacing Elsa's on what was definitely Shaggy's hard-on. "Aw, yeah… Can't wait until we're ready to actually use this thing!" she practically growled happily.

"Patience, dear Winnie. This arrangement is still very new to our beloved Shaggy. I would not be surprised if a part of him is still mentally battling the human norm of monogamy and how others would perceive us." Sibella chided, watching her best friend practically grind on the blanket.

"Yeah, yeah… I get it." Winnie said, the reality of the situation coming to mind. "We can't push too hard. Right. Sorry."

"Like, don't be, Winnie." Shaggy said, his make-out session with Tanis not dulling his attention to conversation. He was now looking at the fiery redhead, her wild curls of red hair even messier from her sleep. "You're just, like, going with your werewolf instincts, right?"

"Well, yeah… Most werewolves mate almost immediately upon finding a suitable companion they want to bond with. I have….urges… now that we're official." she answered embarrassedly, the blush on her face almost matching her hair. Shaggy pulled her down into a hug, causing her entire face to go red. "Like, it's ok, Winnie. I think I get what you mean. Tell ya what… If things between us, like, go well, I'll…think about taking things further. Sibella's right, though. I do need a little time to, like, really get used to this. Still seems surreal to me, but at least I'm not freezing up at kissing anymore." Shaggy said, causing Sibella to lightly laugh as she vividly recalled the kiss she gave him upon announcing the engagement.

Winnie smirked. "Yeah, because we could really use a male Tanis…" she joked sarcastically, kindly patting said mummy on the head, her silent way of telling her that she's kidding around and not badmouthing her about being shy. Tanis giggled, her own mind recalling her first kiss with him. They had BOTH frozen up upon contact!

"Like, just come here." Shaggy grumbled, gently pulling her face to his, giving her a morning kiss of her own. Winnie took to it like a starving person to food, quickly taking control of the kiss. As close together as they were, Shaggy could feel two things pressing into his chest that couldn't be anything other than the werewolf's sizable breasts. Puberty was definitely very nice to Winnie, that's for sure! But his attention was forced to be more focused at the dominant way her tongue was practically conquering his mouth. It was almost like she was releasing all her pent-up desire at once.

After a minute of almost literally sucking face, Winnie released him, satisfied with what she got. For now… "Nice try at keeping up, babe." Winnie said with her usual spark of brash confidence. Cheerful giggling was the response as Shaggy's pillow seemed to grow a blob of blue and white which soon split from the pillow and became Phantasma. Instead of her usual simple raggedy dress, she had on a different outfit that was definitely a human reference….

Phantasma wore really short, legless blue jean-shorts that looked like the legs of the jeans were harshly cut off with scissors or something. Her top consisted of a sleeveless blue shirt that looked like the midriff was manually cut off, covering her chest, but exposing all of her torso. Of course, with a small loose shirt like that, it was quite easy for something like a gust of wind to expose at least a little of the ghost's b-cup breasts, were she to go solid. On the shirt was a logo: A white horizontal rectangle with, inside it, the letters "b.W.o.", and beneath the letters and still inside the rectangle, the acronym's meaning…

"Blue World Order? (**1**) Like, really…?" Shaggy questioned, having an idea where she thought of that attire from. "Yep! I mean, it totally suits my skin tone! Found a video on the internet the other day of some skinny guy wearing this in a fight and loved how it matches me. Seriously, does this not look like something that says 'You have a girlfriend and she is so blue'? And the white logo accentuates my hair. Say hello… to Da Blue Girl!" she finished by spreading her arms out as if she was keeping her balance on a surfboard or something, showing off her newfound attire more.

"Ugh… Phanty, c'mon..." Winnie groaned, already nonplussed by the ghost's random antics. "Go show Daphne the outfit or something…"

"Can't. It's not her shower time. Besides, you all got kisses from Shaggy-honey this morning. I didn't yet… Now, if you'd just clear the way for me, I'm taking over!" she declared as she floated down, lightly trying to shoo Winnie off of her human 'romantic playmate' (as she chose to dub him). Winnie, the stubborn one but the main obstacle in Phanty's way, remained. As good a friend as Phantasma indeed was, the werewolf was never one for being ordered to do things, especially rude orders to the effect of 'Outta the way!'.

"Yo! Ya know I hate being pushed around, Phanty." Winnie growled, sitting up and crossing her arms, glaring at the 'bWo member' hovering in front of her. Phantasma pouted. "Aww… I'm sorry, Winnie. I just don't wanna be left out… Ya know how I get about that…" she said in a somewhat quieter tone, suddenly seeming a little deflated.

"Winnie…" Sibella scolded lightly. Shaggy got the feeling that what was being hinted at might have had something to do with Phantasma's past. He never did once wonder how Phanty was exactly 'created', for lack of a nicer word. "Like, girls! It's ok. I think we all, like, knew that there would be moments were we might butt heads about something. Besides, I was going to get to you, Phantasma. Come down here."

Instantly happy from Shaggy's words, Phantasma suddenly took the bWo half-shirt off and phased it onto Winnie with a cheerful cry of "Buy the shirt! Buy the shirt! Buy the shirt!". Two things were apparent from this. The first of which was more noticeable to Shaggy for obvious male-libido-related reasons: Phantasma wasn't wearing anything beneath the shirt, revealing her perky breasts. After all, since she had always worn that simple one-piece dress of hers, she had never really shown her exact figure before, which was fairly petite. But the ghost seemed to believe in taking the plunge immediately when it came to the idea of showing herself… Most of herself, at least.

The second apparent thing was that the bWo shirt was obviously a little small on Winnie, due to her bigger chest, which was constrained by the new addition, the shirt's logo stretched out comically. "Yeah, yeah…" she grumbled. "I'm just one of the team… Go, Blue World Order, whatever the hell that is… I'm not even blue!" Her sarcasm used like a stress ball, Winnie tried to take the tight shirt off as Phantasma locked lips with Shaggy… It was difficult, due to her boobs, but she eventually took her claws to it and tore herself free of it, the strips of shirt morphing back into ghostly ectoplasm. Making materials out of her own essence… That's a new one to Winnie.

When Shaggy and the Ghouls agreed to take their new relationship slow, he didn't expect Phantasma to be the first to bare her chest to him. Then again, he probably should have expected the unexpected. Dating the ghost would surely be quite the learning experience for him. But that was a matter for later. He focused on the now, mainly the lips that were on his and the breasts that were available to see. He did like how Phanty had a sort of 'adorable' factor going on with her body. Taller than Tanis, of course, but similar when he thought of what he had seen of the mummy back in the mall. There was a difference, though. Tanis looked almost child-like, due to her height. Almost, as she still would be a little taller than most 11-13 year olds. Phantasma had a hint of a womanly appearance, but somehow managed to be as skinny as Shaggy.

Breaking the kiss, Phantasma noticed the red on Shaggy's face and her grin widened. "Oooh, I know what you like, don't I? You like my 'girls', don'cha? Hm? Aren't they just the cutest? Well, two of the cutest... Hehe… Let's not forget the others! But that can wait. We agreed, after all. Slow and steady, one day at a time. Not my style, usually, as you can tell… I'm trying though. I probably won't last long, though. Tomorrow I might just forego clothes altogether and see what happens. I think I got a cute little ass to go with my 'girls'. Hey, let's all go nudist and see how long Lover Boy here holds out for. We could bet on which one of us he goes to first!"

"NO!" the group said in unison. What nerve. Day 1's just started and the eccentric one's already thinking of the next level… Phantasama cackled. "I know, I know! But you know me! Been waiting a long time for something like this, so my patience is a little low. But I can handle it. For you all. But I can still kid around about it! Hey, catch y'all at breakfast. I'm gonna float around. Maybe Daphne's going to shower now. I can't wait to tell her about this!" she practically squealed, her powers remaking another bWo shirt to wear as to be decent around the apartments. "I feel AWESOME! I love you, Shags!" she said, singing the word 'awesome'. She blew a kiss at him as she phased through a wall.

"Like, that settles it. We're officially awake for the day." Shaggy said with a lighthearted chuckle as the girls all got off the bed at their own pace, stretching and yawning. If this is how they would wake up as significant others, the resident coward would never have a dull morning.

Breakfast was a new routine in itself, the Rogers apartment's kitchen and dining room now swarmed with food-seeking people, instead of the usual one human and one dog. Being the consummate chef, Shaggy had no problem whipping up plenty of food for his new cabal of interspecies lovers. Of course, he had to add a few strange touches to it, such as a blood pack for Sibella as a coffee substitute. (She at least had to have it weekly at bare minimum, as her nature demands. He was lucky the blood bank he bought it from didn't ask any questions…) Thankful that his bottomless stomach required a hefty food supply which was easily provided via Mystery Inc's fortuitous profits from years of solving mysteries and thwarting crime, he spent the next hour crafting a fine breakfast of many waffles, bacon, eggs, and sausage patties. Big group, big meal.

It turned out that he had made just enough food, as Phanty brought an unamused but hungry Daphne back with her. A part of the redhead wanted to see just how things turned out since Sibella almost-posessively took him back to her apartment the previous day to watch over him. The other half of her, while finding some of Phantasma's humor not to be of her taste, agreed to the ghost's invitation as a way to help assure her that she had another friend she could count on.

The first thing Daphne noticed was the haphazard way the seating arrangement for breakfast was. Shaggy's place clearly didn't have enough chairs, as the Ghouls' overnight stay was pretty sudden. A recliner was dragged up to the table, as were a couple of folding chairs, and (for Tanis) a stack of thick books that Velma had stored here. Shaggy clearly needed to work out some sort of dining arrangement if he was going to eat with his students more often now…

"So… Looks like you're all better, Shaggy. The girls seem to know how to take care of ya." Daphne remarked as the group began digging into their meals. Even the large bruise that was on Shaggy's neck after the fight was gone.

"Like, yeah. I think Sibella did the most, though. When I woke up, it was just me and her in her place. She had apparently spent all day looking over me. Healing me, perhaps. Like, I'm not sure." Shaggy had thought that perhaps Sibella's sleep-sucking on his throat might have contributed too, but that seemed unlikely…and weird.

"Boy, was she territorial. I thought us werewolves got pissy over when they feel their turf is threatened… She was so angry whenever anybody tried to visit him before he woke." Winnie said, half-annoyed at the memory of her own attempt to visit, but half-impressed with the vampire's fierce determination to protect. "I kinda think she was letting out the rest of her rage about what her dumbass father did. It always hurts when a loved one reveals his true colors after so many years of being family. Kinda makes me wonder what she'd have been like had Batsy decided to home-school her instead of having sent her away to Grimwood."

"I would rather not even consider the notion, thank you." the purple woman in question curtly cut in before taking her blood pack and placed her mouth upon it, her fangs puncturing the bag as if they were straws going into Capri Sun juice pouches. As the sack of blood started to slowly empty, Daphne watched and found herself not as disgusted as she expected herself to be. Probably because of getting to know the vampire. Or maybe the fact that Sibella was treating it like part of a normal breakfast, rather than violently going after someone's neck.

"How's the blood today, Sibella?" Tanis asked, not out of any curiosity of her own, but to divert the topic off of their recent foe. Sibella stopped drinking, her eyes closed as if contemplating something. "Pretty good, for preserved blood. It is a vampire's nature to prefer blood that is very fresh, but this is an adequate method for me."

"Like, do you ever get any urge to seek fresh blood?" Shaggy asked in concerned curiosity. Sitting next to him, Sibella put a hand on his. "You need not worry, my love. I will not hunt what is not willingly given." she vowed with a smile. Daphne had to smile at the romantic gesture.

"I take it this means you confessed your feelings, Sibella?" asked the redhead. The vampire grinned happily. "Indeed, Daphne. And he accepted! Isn't it fang-tastic?" she answered, her hand gently holding his in loving possessiveness.

"And the others are OK with that?" Daphne asked, the question directed at everyone in the room. Phanty snickered quietly. "Of course we are, Daphne. We confessed too!"

"And he chose Sibella. I kinda thought that would happen." Daphne concluded, happy for her perpetually hungry friend. Elsa and Winnie had an amused look on their faces. Sibella gave a light cough, as if about to make a statement. "Actually, we have come to a compromise which we agree to be quite fair, given our individual circumstances. Shaggy is officially my consort and, once Dracula officially steps down, Shaggy shall be given the option to help me rule Transylvania. Personally, I'm not sure if I even want the legacy anymore, after what my wretched father has done… But either way, Shaggy and I are together. But that's not all."

Daphne was surprised by the implications of Shaggy dating a vampire princess, so to speak. Remembering her past discussions with 'Da Blue Girl', as Phanty was calling herself when she burst in today, the redhead had a guess as to where this conversation was going…

"Yup. Far from all." Winnie agreed, taking a bite out of a literal handful of waffles. "Ya see, I've claimed Shaggy as my mate. I wasn't going to take no for an answer. Fortunately, Sibella saw reason. We're sharing. He gets to be her fancy-shmancy royal consort and he gets to tame this wild wolf." she explained with her mouth full.

"But…" Daphne started but was cut off by Phantasma jokingly saying "But wait! There's more!"

"Let's just say that I would prefer it very much if Shaggy and I were to conduct some… experiments about what I feel and what my body can do." Elsa said, maintaining an intellectual tone, but the hint of slyness was hard to miss. Little Tanis raised a shy hand, as if back at school. "Umm… uh… I confessed too. I have a boyfriend now. I feel so… happy!" she exclaimed, her face glowing red behind her bandages.

Daphne turned to the giggling ghost beside her. "You too?" she simply asked. Phantasma let out a joyous shriek before going into a rapid-fire explanation. "Yes! I claim him as my playmate. And I don't just mean regular playing. I mean the Playboy kinda way. Oh wait… the girls are called Playmates, aren't they? Whoopsie! But who cares? He's my playmate. Well, OUR playmate, if ya think about it. But it's great so far. All we did was kiss. It feels so wonderful! I've never made out with anyone before… I even showed him some of my body. And he likes it! Oh, don't look at him like that. I just did it because I wanted to. You know me! Random ol' Phantasma, randomly random as random can get!" she said, ending in a slight panic after noticing the human woman glare at Shaggy when she talked about exposing herself.

Daphne sighed. The ghost had a point about her behavior. Still… "Shaggy, what made you think that this kind of arrangement was acceptable? "

"Like, Daph, I know this is a little strange…"

"A little? You're committing polygamy with girls you taught in school! Do you know how many teachers get arrested for having sex with their students?! Even with the fact that they're legally graduated, it's just… weird."

"How do you think I feel, Daphne? Like, I asked myself a million times since they got here if I was doing the right thing, if I was going crazy for being attracted to them, if it's love or just lust, like, which girl I'm falling for… At first, it wasn't much of anything. I was happy to see them again and, like, proud that they're all grown up and graduated. But as we hung out and did stuff, like, all the questions started popping up in my head, especially after the mall trip… Looking back on it now, they were definitely, like, dropping hints. Then came Dracula, man. Sibella putting herself out there the way she did… The girls stepping up, like, despite his strength. But that moment when he shoved Sibella down… His own daughter. Like, right then, something occurred to me. I don't think I have it all figured out and, like, I doubt I ever will. But at that moment, I wasn't going to let anyone hurt them. They're all special to me. The doubts didn't matter, man." As Shaggy spoke, Daphne recalled how the resident coward grew defiant and tried to fight Dracula, despite being in a position where death could have happened in an instant. And he didn't even eat one Scooby Snack beforehand…

"And they shouldn't at all, mate." Winnie cut in before turning to Daphne, waffles in hand, an intense stare directed at the human beauty. "Listen. I understand that you humans tend to frown on setups like ours. But if it makes ya feel any better, we all had a long talk about it here last night. Lots of things were said. Shaggy gave his point of view, then us, one by one. Sibella, being ever the diplomat, managed to make a deal we were all fine with. We've grown up as a pack for years. Known each other inside and out. I admit I was a little stubborn… but if we can handle the ghoul school, I think we'd be fine with sharing a mate."

"See, Daphne? We're fine!" Phantasma chirped happily. "Sure, there's going to be some occasions of arguing and stuff. What kind of bond doesn't? I remember when Tanis got mad at me about reading her diary. Oooh, what a temper on that little one! What was I saying? Oh yeah, now I remember. One of the things that was said was that we would have never even entered this agreement if Shaggy truly felt like it wouldn't work. We don't want to be unfair or anything. In fact, we're taking things nice and slow. All we've been doing is kissing and sleeping in one bed with our clothes on. Baby steps, baby steps. But without the actual baby. Hehehe…"

Daphne put her face in her hands, her mind conflicted. Being an opinionated human woman, she never did have any favor toward any guy that had multiple women. It reeked of macho, selfish, male dominance in her mind. On the other hand, she could sort of see the Ghouls' point about trying to maintain their close-knit bond when they have the same desire, rather than trying to figure out who gets him. Lord knows she's seen a few cat-fights from some of her other friends and female acquaintances over some guy… Not to mention, she mentally reminded herself, that monster cultures had their differences from human culture.

After a moment, she brought her face up again, looking at her good friend and his new brood. "Alright… Ok, you're together. Shaggy, I'm sorry for getting upset. I hope you didn't think I'm doubting you or something. It's just that…"

"Like, that's alright, Daphne. I knew this wouldn't go over very well with some people. I'm still trying to get used to it, but I'm trying to be as fair as, like, humanly possible about it." In response, Phanty whispered to Daphne "We can tell. He's the only human involved! Get it? HUMANly possible?"

Daphne smirked. "Well, that's definitely you alright. I should have known that you wouldn't just dive right in, strip them bare, and just ravish them right away." she said, chuckling.

"Who said some of us didn't want that?" Winnie said, wearing a matching smirk while watching the other redhead's instantly vanish.

"Winnie! Uh… Sorry, Daph! Umm… Werewolf mating urges." Shaggy explained, incredibly awkward.

"You don't say…" Daphne said, giving a pointed look at the horny she-wolf.

"I'll tell ya like I told him, missy. Werewolves usually get it on upon claiming a mate. Animal nature, as it were. For his sake, I'm holding back and taking it slow like everyone else. I can maintain control, but I'm already feeling the pressure, so I hope you can bear a few witty lines as a way to vent once in a while." Winnie said, growing uncomfortable as she was talking about it. After finishing her explanation, she took to eating a pile of eggs to distract herself.

"I…see. I think." Daphne replied, blushing a little. Different cultures, indeed. She turned to the eating Scooby. "And you're ok with all this?"

"Reah. Raggy ras a rack." the great dane answered with his classic laugh thrown in.

"A pack? C'mon, Scoob. It's not like that. Like, is it?"

"From some animals' point of view, we could be seen as your pack." Winnie answered, snickering. "You're our alpha male!" she added before bursting into lighthearted laughter. It was kind of amusing to think of the meek, lanky human as anything alpha, but she thought the title was well earned after seeing him standing up to Dracula.

"Umm… Alpha male? Does that mean he's going to order us to do stuff…?" Tanis asked nervously, causing Winnie's laughter to get louder, having another mental picture. "Like, no, Tanis. I wouldn't make anybody do anything they didn't want to." Shaggy said, passing the mummy another waffle after noticing that she had finished her plate. Tanis took the food and smiled gratefully.

"Yeah. That'd be strange to see. Shaggy the slave driver. Pfft… I guarantee that, as strange as this setup is, he'd never do anything like that to you ladies." Daphne said, starting to feel a little better. She wouldn't fully approve of their polygamy for a while, but she could admit to herself that Shaggy wouldn't be the kind of man to let it go to his head. The graduated young women were in good hands. Besides, this was at least relatively harmless, compared to the other bizarre monster-related things that Mystery Inc had encountered during their career.

"That is certainly fang-tastic to hear." Sibella answered, her confidence in the budding relationship seemingly endless. If Shaggy was the alpha male, somebody had to be the alpha female, making sure things didn't get too far out of hand between her fellow lovers... Why not the head girl of the class? Besides, in a way, managing this relationship could be some sort of training for maintaining relations with other species if she takes over her father's role. Keeping a cool head, learning to compromise, being assertive, exuding authority when needed, and making sure nobody feels excluded or insulted. Much of the ways her father didn't bother with. Then again, the relationship probably wasn't an ideal training method for leadership as she was dealing with her closest friends. Serious leaders that she didn't know were a different matter altogether.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the front door opened and Fred and Velma entered, the blond looking particularly excited about something. "Ah, here you all are. Group breakfast today, huh? Doing alright, Shaggy?"

"Like, yeah, Fred. Peachy. The Ghouls took care of me and I couldn't be better." Shaggy answered with a little pride. "Check it out, man. Not even a bruise!" he continued, showing his neck. "Jinkies, you ladies sure have a knack for healing." the resident brainiac said, impressed that the ugly hand-shaped discoloration from Dracula's strong grip could be cleared up in just a night.

Sibella's face burned from both modesty and pride. "Oh, it's nothing a little focus and care can't fix when it comes to our kind…" she muttered politely. It was then that Velma noticed a little red mark on the side of Shaggy's neck. That almost looked like… "Wait... There's still something there, Shaggy. On the side of your neck. …Is that a hickey?"

And then Sibella just burned from embarrassment, remembering the little sleeping habit she had awoken to find herself doing to her beloved, as well as the taste of Shaggy's skin… "Uhh…"

"Blondie, Genius…" Winnie called out to the newcomers via dubbed nicknames. "We have some news for ya, now that you brought this up." Daphne's expression said it all for the group: 'Here we go…'.

A few minutes of explanation later, the two remaining members of Mystery Inc had two completely different reactions. Fred was quite surprised by the romantic turnout, his jaw dropped in a way that made Winnie snicker in amusement. He thought Shaggy would have just picked one of the girls and gotten the rest to agree to friendship. Velma looked thoughtful, truthfully unsurprised by the development due to her observations of the Ghouls' interactions as a close-knit group and what she had researched on actual monster culture from the limited credible resources she had available (plus Mystery Inc's few encounters with actual supernatural activity, of course). A small part of her was let down by the news, her unrequited feelings for the kind coward. She had figured that there would always be plenty of time to decide on what her feelings were exactly, her focus usually being on more intellectual matters and what she would like to do for a career. But alas…

"Well… I'm just glad that our Shaggy's in good hands." Velma chuckled. If she had to lose her interest to another woman, at least it was to five bright, capable ones, despite the stigmatized nature of the relationship. Hmm… Maybe room for one more, perhaps? She had much to ponder.

"Shaggy, you sly dog. We didn't think you had it in you." Fred said with no small hint of pride, for both his friend's happiness and that his friend was becoming a hit with women. It was proof that even mild-mannered people like Shaggy could have a certain charm, even if opportunities to utilize it were fewer.

"Like, trust me, Fred. Me neither." Shaggy gulped as Sibella took a look at the hickey she had apparently left, almost like a nurse examining a wound, except for the mischievous smile on her face. She was proud of her subconscious handiwork. The closest she would come to actually claiming him…for now. Someday…

"So what did you want to see us about, Velma? Fred?" Elsa asked, genuinely curious now that the big shocker was released and dealt with. Fred, with a look of sudden remembrance, grew excited again. "Oh, yeah! That's right. Excellent news, gang! Just got an email from some old friends of ours. Guess who's coming to Coolsville?"

"Like, who?" Shaggy asked, happy of the prospect of seeing some familiar faces. It had been ages since they had seen some of their good friends and acquaintances from their travels. "Reah! Rho?" Scooby seconded, tail wagging.

"Remember our musical friends, the Hex Girls? Well, they've been touring again and they're making an extended stop in Coolsville for a few concerts. Thorn mentioned that she really felt like visiting us, so she worked that into their run." Fred revealed with a grin.

"Oh, sweet! I thought they'd start touring again soon, like, after that new song they put out last month." Shaggy remarked, remembering the three Goths fondly.

"Ooh, you know a band, my love? Perhaps you could take us to a concert for a group date." Sibella cooed, having nudged her chair closer to Shaggy and started cuddling with him, much to her lover's shy embarrassment about getting some affection in front of friends. She simply adored how he looked when he was blushing.

"Hex Girls? Are they witches or sorceresses?" Elsa wondered. If so, the name was fitting.

"Not in the sense that they sling spells. Thorn's big on the Wiccan way, though. Like, they're musicians. They like the Gothic style and mentality. Well, except for the 'super-depression' part some Goths might have… Like, they're a group of spitfires. I think you all would like them." Shaggy told the Ghouls, remembering the last Hex Girls concert he was at. It had been a couple of years… He began wondering if any of the trio had changed at all since then.

"Are they pretty?" Winnie asked in a suspicious tone, causing Sibella and Elsa to roll their eyes. Winnie may be a wonderful friend and fine mate, but the two hoped that she wouldn't become one of those very overprotective lovers… Shaggy, oblivious or just honest, just answered the question. "Well… Yeah, like, they are attractive. But don't worry, Winnie. I, like, think I already have enough women…" the foodie meekly replied, still feeling a little strange about being in an actual relationship so suddenly. Happy, but something to get used to.

"Hmph… Well, we'll see… If you say they're good people, I'll roll with it." Winnie said, flashing a thumbs-up for effect. The least she could do is actually meet them. If anything, she could end up with more human friends.

"Remember when we first met them and they made you two think they were vampires?" Daphne asked Shaggy and Scooby. This got Sibella's attention as she waited for her lover's response. Shaggy and Scooby groaned but the beatnik then started to chuckle.

"Like, yeah. They scared us good that time. Like, it was a neat trick with the fake fangs and they certainly had the look down." It was rare when Shaggy could recall a moment of him getting scared out of his mind that was actually pretty amusing upon retrospect. The purple woman that was practically attached to his side began to scoff.

"I'm sure their attempt pales in comparison to an actual vampire, my dear." she playfully said, baring her fangs in a mock-threatening grin. Shaggy, testing the waters of his boundaries as a lover, leaned his head down and kissed his batty consort. The feeling of her two fangs still sticking out between their lips felt a little weird to the human, but he didn't mind. As long as she didn't accidentally pierce his lips with them, which he doubted the likelihood of. "Like, the difference between them at that time and you now is that I know you won't attack me." he shot back, putting an arm around her.

Sibella giggled. "Not yet, I won't." she purred, winking at him. "Uh… err…" Shaggy stammered, his face going red again over whether she meant that sexually or if she would eventually want to taste his blood… Daphne, Velma, and a jealous Winnie rolled their eyes collectively, the humans because of 'public displays of affection', the werewolf because she wanted a turn for such a romantic moment.

"So when are they coming here, Fred?" asked Daphne. If they were staying for a few days, it'd be good to be ready for their visit. "Well, they're actually nearby now. A couple of towns over for a concert tonight and then they arrive in Coolsville tomorrow. Should arrive around midday so they have time to hang out and chat before their first concert here."

"Jinkies, I wonder how they're gonna react to a little more company than they're expecting." Velma said with a hint of amusement, obviously referring to the Ghouls. The thought of a light scare caused Phantasma and Winnie to chuckle mischievously. "Like, I dunno, but I'm sure they remember that the supernatural does exist." Shaggy stated, reminding Mystery Inc of the Witch's Ghost incident. This caused the two cackling troublemakers to get certain looks on their faces, ones that Sibella was quite familiar with…

"Now don't you two start. These Hex Girls are Shaggy's friends. Besides, I think we would want to make a good first impression on other humans to prove that some of us aren't as savage as others." Sibella scolded, much like a den-mother. "I gather that their first encounter with the monster world wasn't pleasant, my love?"

"Like, nope. Long story short, it was something to do with an evil spirit that wanted to return with a vengeance… We ended up, like, assisting the Girls in stopping her before she could win. Ever since then, we'd run into them once in a while or get an occasional email about their exploits or a gift of some free merchandise." Shaggy explained, not up to giving another lengthy story after what happened yesterday.

"Yeah. Thorn always did include some sort of friendly joke about new ways to scare you and Scooby in their emails." Fred remarked with a snicker. Sibella and Winnie both raised their eyebrows at this, while the other girlfriends (ghoulfriends?) snickered at the idea of constantly scaring a friend as a way to play around.

"Like, they just won't let me live it down, will they?" Shaggy grumbled, not really annoyed but not liking being made fun of either. He understood that some friends joke around, but still. "You know how women are, Shaggy. We have some long memories, as I'm sure you'll learn soon enough." Velma said, grinning. "Besides, you know they don't hate you or anything."

"I know. So, uhh… Who wants to hit the town?" he asked. The sooner the topic was changed, the better.

In an attempt to explore a bit of human culture and perhaps blend in, Shaggy took his five Ghoulfriends to one of Coolsville's current hot-spots, a 24-hour club oddly named "Chill". Shaggy could get the reason for the name. Chill? COOLsville? Easy enough gimmick. Still kinda seemed a little flat to him. And he had to facepalm when the place recently began bragging about its new Netflix subscription…

The place seemed to have everything needed to cut loose and have some fun. A dance floor, a bar, a few pool tables, arcade machines, a couple of private rooms for karaoke (which instantly got Phantasma's attention), a few TVs scattered about with different TV stations on, among other entertainments. The Ghouls were interested enough to explore. Unlike the mall trip, the women insisted on going as they were, no hoodies or other concealment, arguing that people at this club might just think they're dressing up for fun. Phantasma even stayed solid and walked with the others, although she was still dressed in her chosen attire (although she put on some lingerie underneath, since she was to be in public).

As the group split up to explore the joint and have fun, Sibella wanted to try dancing. She never did have a chance to dance in public. But the relatively-fancy vampire quickly came upon a clash of cultures when she noticed what the humans surrounding her were doing. She supposed it could be dancing. Some of it looked more like seizures. And she could have sworn that the action that one couple was doing to each other required nudity… Whatever happened to a waltz or even a bat-tusi?

Winnie took to the dance floor and did her own thing, not caring how she looked. Considering the other dancers, that turned out to be the best mentality to have. Seeing her batty friend just observing, Winnie grooved her way over to her. "C'mon, 'Bella! Show some moves!" she said, grinning without a care in the world.

"Er… I'm not sure I can do…any of that." the purple woman replied shyly, afraid that her Shaggy might laugh at her or something. Winnie scoffed as she moved to the music. "Does it look like I know what I'm doing either?" the werewolf reasoned. True enough, Winnie wasn't exactly the most coordinated with her dancing. It looked like she was just moving what she felt like moving while keeping with the beat. Perhaps Sibella should try following her best friend and fellow mate's example.

With a little effort of trying to get her mind off of the idea of graceful movement and form, Sibella slowly began to loosen up. First it was that "What, I'm dancing! See?" awkward tactic of just swaying back and forth to the music. It seemed to work for a minute until Winnie, being her usual sarcastic self, called her out on it and challenged her to do more. Clumsily, she tried moving her arms and legs to the beat, doing her best to appear random but natural. Winnie had to snicker as her friend's attempt was like a bad beginner version of The Robot.

"Sibella, you're so tense. Just do like I do. Move first, think never. Watch." The werewolf proceeded to strut her stuff in a way that somehow reminded the purple batgirl of a werewolf's natural agility and animalistic grace. No planned out steps, just motion. "Move first… Uh!" Winnie reiterated, with a pelvic thrust for effect. "…Think never. Easy."

Just before Sibella could try again, someone stepped in front of her, moving wit the beat. A guy. An interested guy, judging from the not-so-innocent smirk. "Hey, sexy. Wanna dance? Not sure why you painted yourself purple, but I like how you look. I like it a lot." the guy said, his breath giving Sibella an adequate idea of how much of the man's courage was liquid. It appears male bravado among humans was present in more than just the Calloway Cadets… How sad.

"Sorry, sir. I have a boyfriend." she simply answered with no small amount of pride in that fact as she moved away from the intruding man. However, like most drunk dudes in clubs, he wasn't about to leave upon just one refusal…

"If that's so, why ain't he here with ya? C'mon, sugar-tits, let's get to know each other." the drunk persisted, moving closer. 'Sugar….Tits?' Sibella thought, having never heard the human slang before. She considered that very rude. "Excuse me, but what did you just call me?!" she demanded, raising her voice and restraining the urge to use her influence somehow. It wouldn't do to cause a scene where she or her beloved could get in trouble.

"'Ey, baby, nothing to worry about. I just called you hot. Ya know, because you're hot…" the goon rambled, completely missing the anger in her voice. Not since the time before the Calloways went through puberty had Sibella heard anything so completely devoid of intellect. Combined with the pure lust that she could practically feel radiating off of him, she deduced that he was one of the many self-absorbed pricks that always look for the next one night stand. Harmless if rejected the right way.

"So, beautiful… How about we go back to my place and show me if your carpet matches the purple drapes?" Now there was one modern-day human innuendo she HAD heard of. With a grunt of sheer disgust, Sibella let fly with a solid kick in between the man's legs, making hard contact before quickly withdrawing her foot as he screamed in high-pitched pain. She then moved oddly with the beat, appearing to dance again. "Oh, did I hit you, sir? Whoops! I'm still learning how to dance these dances. Silly me." Sibella said aloud, with enough phony guilt to cause Winnie to stop dancing from laughing so hard.

"Ha! No means no, slapnuts! Hey everyone! Check out 'Saving Privates Crying' over here!" Winnie called out before laughing again. Nearby people glanced at the fallen man clutching his crotch in the fetal position and snickered.

"Not fair…" the goon whined, still high-pitched. "I'll… get you… yet…" Sibella and Winnie just resumed dancing, the vampire still struggling to adjust to how others were moving. The two inhumans wondered where their beloved went off to. Winnie thought she saw Shaggy being dragged into one of the karaoke rooms by Phantasma earlier. Typical. The ghost hasn't really had much alone time just with Shaggy. Hell, if Winnie recalled, Phanty had more time alone with Daphne in the shower than alone with Shaggy. Oh well. Some time with him might be good for the lonely spirit…

"Blinded by the light! Revved up like a douche-!" Phantasma sang, shrill as usual, her voice threatening to short-circuit the microphone. Shaggy had to interject when he heard the altered lyric.

"Like, Phanty, I think you mean 'deuce'." he said, chuckling.

"You sure, babe? Because I heard this song before and the singer sounds like he's saying 'douche'. How do you 'rev up' a douche? That makes no sense. But that's what he's saying. And it's hilarious! Hehehe… Alright, next song! Abort this one!" Phanty chirped as she fidgeted with the control console to quit the current song and peruse the rest of the selection of songs. "Lemme see… Journey, Eagles, Metallica, The Doors, Pink, System Of A Down, Megadeth, Type O Negative, Daft Punk, Britney Spears, Slipknot… Wow, this selection's more eclectic than I am and I'm pretty nuts! Hmm… Whaddya wanna hear, Shags? Want me to be a little bit country or perhaps a little bit rock n roll?" she asked, giving Shaggy what she believed to be a seductive look. To Shaggy, her look appeared to be reminiscent of Harley Quinn on a combination of caffeine and aphrodisiacs. But he understood what she was going for.

The resident coward approached the bWo-clothed ghost and ran his eyes across the available selection. He was never much for singing, believing that his voice wasn't the type meant for use in song. But as Phantasma never seemed to care how off-key she sang, he figured it wouldn't hurt to sing with her. Just two people letting loose with something to entertain themselves. "Hmm… This one seems, like, fitting. It's a classic." Shaggy said, pleasantly surprised to see a particular song on the list. He selected it. Phantasma cackled happily. A duet with her boyfriend very much appealed to her.

As the sounds of guitar, drums, and oddly enough, some cowbell (which some people joked that there should be more of) blasted into the room, Shaggy took the mic and waited for the words to show. And so it began. (Phantasma sings the backup parts in parentheses alone, but both sing the main lyrics together.)

"_All our times have come…_

_Here but now they're gone…_

_Seasons don't fear the reaper,_

_Nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain… (We can be like they are)_

_Come on, baby. (Don't fear the Reaper)_

_Baby, take my hand. (Don't fear the Reaper)_

_We'll be able to fly (Don't fear the Reaper)_

_Baby, I'm your man…."_

As Shaggy expected, both of them sounded like they could cause plenty of stray cats and dogs to yowl and howl. They would probably be perfect singers for the Addams Family, though.

"_Valentine is done…_

_Here but now they're gone…_

_Romeo and Juliet…_

_Are together in eternity (Romeo and Juliet)_

_Forty thousand men and women everyday (like Romeo and Juliet)_

_Forty thousand men and women everyday (redefine happiness)_

_Another forty thousand coming everyday (We can be like they are)_

_Come on, baby (Don't fear the Reaper)_

_Baby, take my hand (Don't fear the Reaper)_

_We'll be able to fly (Don't fear the Reaper)_

_Baby, I'm your man…"_

As the "Laaaa la laaa laaa la…" section hit a second time followed by an instrumental section, Shaggy took a good look at his singing partner. He felt a little guilty to think that her facial expressions usually make her look a tad off-kilter. He always had the impression that she must have had a lonely life when she was alive, her erratic hyperactivity possibly driving away many instead of attracting. But watching her sing and feeling her eyes on him, he could tell that she was grateful that someone took the chance to have a romantic interest in her, a strange Juliet waiting for her Romeo, to reference the song lyrics… He also realized that he was getting to know her facial expressions well enough to understand her. To many, she would look like a caterwauling loony. To him, she was merely the happiest she had ever been in some time.

"_Love of two is one…_

_Here but now they're gone…_

_Came the last night of sadness_

_And it was clear she couldn't go on_

_Then the door was opened and the wind appeared_

_The curtains blew then disappeared_

_The curtains flew then he appeared (saying don't be afraid)_

_Come on, baby (And she had no fear)_

_And she ran to him (Then they started to fly)_

_They looked backward and said goodbye (She had become like they are)_

_She had taken his hand (She had become like they are)_

_Come on, baby. (Don't fear the Reaper)"_

As the music went into its finish, Phantasma turned to him, wrapped her arms around him and initiated one hell of a French kiss, her tongue invading his mouth with a frenzy that matched her behavior. Shaggy was only surprised by the fierceness of the kiss, admitting that it was kinda romantic with the final guitar chords repeating into a fade-out to end the song. If anything, he had definitely picked the right song for the occasion, considering that he was kissing a ghost and the song title basically suggested not fearing death.

"Thank you, Shags… That was…. That was so AH-MAY-ZIIIING!" Phanty sang in happiness as the karaoke monitor graded the duo's singing ability with (obviously) an 'F minus'. "This is the first time I felt like this. And that's counting when I was alive. Well, from what I remember of my life, anyway. But right now, I've never felt so… wait, that's too cliché… Oh, what the hell. SO ALIVE! I actually sang with a loved one! Uhh…a loved one that isn't family. My father and I sang sometimes when I lived at home… Oh, and I did sing with some of the Ghouls at one point or another. But that wasn't what I meant either. Singing with you was just…. CAN WE DO IT AGAIN?!" she said, barely containing the excess energy she had gathered from what she felt was the feeling of being loved. For emphasis, she brought her face up to his as she asked for another round.

"Like… Sure, Phanty." Shaggy said, snickering at his girlfriend's seemingly endless hype. He didn't mind this so much in private, when it was just him and the Ghouls. But, knowing that the Hex Girls were stopping by, there was a chance that his relationship wouldn't be kept within Mystery Inc. What was he going to do? Hide the Ghouls? When the Girls already know that the supernatural exists anyway? Pointless. Although, he could just explain the former teacher/student link and tell of their graduation and leave it at that.

But what would the Ghouls think? He had heard about what some people think of hiding a relationship from others. The partner would think that her lover might be ashamed of her, for instance… Shaggy may have been semi-roped into the relationship, but he'd be lying if he said he wanted to back out of it. He was attracted to them and had mentally been curious of what it'd be like to be with one of them, even if a part of him nagged him about the human taboo of it. So, he'd accept his generous fortune. But if he tried to hide the relationship, would that hurt it? Or would they understand? Sibella seemed to, at least…

A valid concern, but he had a feeling that things could work out when it happens.

Elsa was trying her luck with one of the arcade games, Tanis keeping her company since the height-challenged mummy was nervous about being surrounded by unknown people alone, remembering what happened in the mall. "I can see why Winnie likes these things so much. The challenge of overcoming obstacles of sorts. If only it didn't cause some people to devolve into bellowing cavemen, intellectually." The golem girl mused as she moved her digital avatar toward another pack of enemies to defeat.

"Not a lot of people like to lose, Elsa. Especially in competition. I think some people are just easier to upset than others." Tanis responded, watching her friend's progress. "I mean, take the Calloways, for example."

"I'm not taking those jarheads anywhere." Elsa remarked jokingly, her steady hands guiding and moving her character as enemy after enemy was soundly trounced. Tanis giggled, trying to imagine Elsa taking one of the soldier boys somewhere. The mental picture didn't end very well for either pictured young-adult. "Why do they call soldiers 'jarheads' anyway?" Tanis asked, curious. It did seem like an odd nickname for a person.

"Dunno, really. Some human thing, I guess. Aw, damn… I got killed." Elsa muttered, her game having ended. The machine asked for another quarter, but the Frankenteen was already tired of the game and wanted to do something else. A glance around brought a possibility for her and her little friend. "Hey Tanis, wanna try playing some… I believe they call it 'Pool'?"

"But I don't have my bikini with me…." Tanis answered, blushing at the prospect of people looking at her in her swimwear. Elsa groaned but could understand the gaffe.

"No, Tanis, not a swimming pool. They just call a game 'pool'. Come over here." Elsa said as she walked over toward one of the green-topped rectangular tables, waving the mummy over. Tanis approached the table and looked at the expanse of green surface. "….What do we do?" she asked, her head tilted in curiosity.

"Not really sure." Elsa answered, looking around the table until she found a big gap on the side of it. "I hear we're supposed to hit these balls with other balls until they go in the holes." she supplied, reaching in, grabbing a couple of pool balls, lightly tossing them on the table, and then repeating until she got them all out and the balls were scattered all across the table.

"But how do you hit the balls to hit the other balls?" If this was a cartoon, a giant question mark would be appearing over the Egyptian's head, just comically hovering there. Elsa saw the answer against the close-by wall. "With these, I think. I've seen it done." she said, grabbing a couple of pool cues and handing one to Tanis, who cautiously held on to it as the stick looked to be only a little shorter than she was.

"Ok. You're the genius. Umm… Show me?" Tanis asked. Grinning, Elsa leaned over the table, remembering the instance she had seen of this human game while researching random human things during the first couple of days of her stay with Mystery Inc, when the thrill of being in the human world was still fresh. Positioning the stick in a way she had seen it done, she had a shot lined up, remembering the fact that she had to hit the white ball with the cue stick.

As observant as she was about details, her shot would have been perfect, if not for one slight miscalculation. Her own strength. Hitting the ball with the stick was easy enough, but because of her body's enhanced strength, she took the example she was imagining of hitting the cue ball hard a little too literally… The cue ball shot like a bullet toward the other ball, smacking it, and then flying up and off into the distance like a small cannonball. Elsa's saving grace was the fact that the loose ball didn't hit anybody. It did, however, break a glass food shield window of the built-in food stand…

A voice bellowed out over the club's P.A. system. "Dammit, if that was you asshole bikers again, I'm coming out there to kick your candy-asses! So you suck at pool! Calm your tits before I have the cops charge you for damages!"

Needless to say, Elsa and Tanis quickly abandoned the pool tables, searching for their mutual boyfriend.

Winnie snickered to herself as the angry announcement could be heard over the dance music. There might be a fight somewhere here. That idea piqued her interest as she kept dancing with Sibella, deciding to stay close to her in case another macho male decided to try his luck. Sister-mates have to look out for one another, after all. Since the first attempt, there were a couple of other men that thought they'd have better luck. One had an unfortunate accident as he 'somehow' tripped on his own two feet and landed face first on the hard dance floor. The other, to his embarrassment, couldn't figure out for the life of him how his clothes suddenly fell off of him, ripped to shreds in the blink of an eye. After the strange occurrences, guys learned to leave, as some referred to them, the "purple bitch" and the "hairy weirdo" to their dances.

Winnie's peripheral vision caught a flash of a familiar something amongst the moderately populated dance floor: A familiar stuck-up, frizzy style of black with a little white hair. Elsa. Without stopping her groove, Winnie stylishly spun in place 360 degrees and then stopped in the direction of Elsa, pointing a pair of pointer fingers at the makeshift woman with a greeting of "Yo!"

"Winnie, uhh… Where's Shaggy? We might have a problem here." Elsa asked, Tanis clinging to her nervously.

"Might wanna check the karaoke rooms. Phantasma practically shanghaied him into making 'beautiful' music together. Literally, of course." Winnie chuckled, attempting to moonwalk, but was clearly just walking backward. "There a problem?"

"Umm… Maybe. We kinda messed up trying to play pool…" It wasn't easy for Elsa to admit to making a mistake, but at least it wasn't something like messing up a procedure on her own body.

"Wait… That announcement? You're the 'guys' that suck at pool?" Winnie asked before laughing a bit. "The hell'd you do to piss management off?"

"I broke a window with a pool ball…"

Winnie went silent, but kept moving. "…Isn't the closest window to the pool tables at the completely opposite side of the room from them?"

"Exactly."

"Girl, that super-strength of yours ain't going to help us blend in if ya don't keep that under control." the werewolf snickered. Sibella joined in with a polite giggle, having overheard the situation. She found Winnie's criticism ironic, considering the 'guy control' methods that the duo had to employ. The prospect of facing an angry manager began to seem appealing to Elsa.

"Alright, then. Let us go find our beloved." Sibella declared. She had slowly gotten the hang of modern-day dancing, but was tiring out and wanted to do something else. Perhaps they'll catch him and Phanty mid-song. And so, the four women left the dance floor, heading to the karaoke rooms. Elsa and Tanis noticed somebody hastily searching around the area of the pool tables, probably the guy that made the announcement. She hoped that the employee hadn't seen what they looked like.

Moments later, the door to Shaggy and Phanty's private karaoke room opened to reveal a startling sight to the four ghoulfriends. Shaggy, sitting on a comfortable-looking seat, as Phanty stood closely in front of him, swaying her hips around as she sang. "_Sweet dreams are made of these. Who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the Seven Seas. Everybody's lookin' for somethin'!" _It almost looked like she was starting to give him a stripper's lapdance, the eroticism nearly broken by Phanty's naturally off-key singing. 'Nearly' being the key word as Shaggy looked bashfully interested in what he was seeing, his face practically a crimson mask of blush.

"Phanty, I think that's enough teasing." Winnie remarked, somewhat jealous that she didn't think of the idea. Elsa, glancing back outside the room, noticed that the angry employee seemed to be making his way in their general direction. Had he really seen what they looked like when the incident happened? Thinking quickly as she didn't want to cause any more of a problem, she quickly pushed the three other ladies into the room and shut the door, hoping the guy hadn't seen them.

"Uhh, actually, that's not even close to enough teasing!" Elsa said in a flustered tone, not wanting to bother Shaggy about what she accidentally broke. "In fact, umm… how about we all do a song for him?" Yeah, that should buy them some time to lay low until the heat dies down, assuming that guy doesn't bother with the karaoke rooms.

"You, Ms. Serious Engineer, actually WANT to do something like this?" Winnie said, eyebrows raised.

"Aw, c'mon, Win. Elsa just wants to loosen up. Besides, why should I be the only one to shake my booty for Shags?" Phanty cackled. The Ghouls were a team, so a group song would be a perfect way to end karaoke day, so she thought.

"She does have a point. Here we go off having fun and Phantasma hogs our beloved all to herself. Clever girl…" Sibella said in a sultry manner, strutting her stuff over to Shaggy, who gulped at the vampire's approach. A playful Sibella? Going along with Phantasma's idea of 'serenading' him? Was this kind of stuff going to happen every time he goes on a group date with them? "Like, I thought we agreed to take things slow." he said, ideas and thoughts running through his head. The 'tent' that Phantasma was admittedly making him 'pitch' started to get a little more pronounced.

"We did, my consort. But that doesn't mean we can't play with you." Sibella answered, standing where Phantasma was as the vampire lightly moved the blue woman aside, wearing a 'come hither' expression.

"Aw, yeah! I was waiting for you to come out and join us on the dance floor, Shaggy, but I guess we had to come to you. Hope you're ready, babe." Winnie said, standing next to Sibella, throwing an arm around her best friend.

As Elsa awkwardly went to join the others, Tanis stayed by the door. Dancing close to her new boyfriend, like most social situations, was another mountain for her to climb. She fidgeted with the little ankh-shaped jewel hanging at the end of her bandage ponytail, trying to muster the nerve to participate. She then remembered how Shaggy had treated her when he fixed her bandages in the mall. No laughter, no judgment, just care. A little awkward dancing shouldn't be a problem compared to showing her flesh. Keeping that in mind, she put one foot in front of the other until she found herself next to the rest of the Ghouls.

Shaggy gulped again, most of his ghoulfriends looking like they were hungry, but not for food. Even Elsa looked like she was tempted to at least steal a kiss. "Like… ladies?" he squeaked, surrounded by a veritable sea of estrogen.

"Ooooh, what song should we do, Ghouls?!" Phanty squealed, practically quivering with excitement.

Ten minutes later, a red-faced, hot-and-bothered Shaggy stumbled out of the karaoke room, walking stiffly because of the huge case of blue balls that his ghoulfriends had left him with. He couldn't help chuckling like a dope over the sights and sounds he had seen. He never thought that, outside of porn, he would see such a cavalcade of clothed breasts and ass in ridiculous poses, anything from breasts squished together to ass-on-ass to boobs-on-ass to sensual touching. Of course, Tanis had minimal participation on those fronts, due to her underdeveloped body ("Ra curse these little A-cups…"). But she had her own way of expressing herself as she shyly sat next to the stupefied human and ran her hands along his body, stealing the occasional kiss. At some point, she would take his arm and position it around her, inviting him to feel her up, her face a crimson testament to how outside her comfort zone this whole thing placed her. Noticing her embarrassment, the lust-addled Shaggy was coherent enough to respect her silent request and meekly ran his placed hand up and down her back while trying to pay attention to every girl's antics.

Of course, his own embarrassment increased when Tanis 'accidentally' made his hand slip a little too far south, cupping her bandaged butt. She may have been mentally freaking out about participating, but that didn't mean that she didn't have her own desires about her boyfriend.

Phantasma was thrilled to be able to do whatever random thing she wanted. First, it was giving Elsa a hug that deliberately pressed her petite chest against her bigger, firm pair of breasts. Then came trying to invite Shaggy to give her a spanking. After that was an attempt to play Winnie's ass like a pair of bongos, which quickly stopped when the werewolf growled at her. Phanty ended up quickly being put in an embarrassing position when Sibella and Winnie, taking advantage of the ghost being knelt down and her head being near the werewolf's ass when she was doing her 'drum playing', bent over and put their asses against each other, temporarily sandwiching Phanty until she used her ghostly transparency to escape.

Elsa, besides pressing chests with Phanty and then Sibella, wasn't exactly sure of what to do. She never felt the need to try and be sexy before. Hell, she had often thought that she could never feel sexy. Sure, Shaggy had accepted her as a lover and she knew he enjoyed their kissing a lot. But she thought that her personality and know-how were her main selling points of her worth as a lover. So, clumsily, she tried to just present herself, awkwardly using hand gestures to offer her chest, her crotch, and her ass. Why the hell did she think this was a good idea? Shaggy wouldn't see her like that, would he? She remembered what she had told him in the mall and wondered how long it would be before he grew enough nerve to tell her what cosmetic surgery she should do.

She then felt something grab her butt. Looking back, she saw a smiling, dopey, self-conscious, confused boyfriend, his right arm around Tanis, his left arm quickly withdrawing as he noticed her looking at him. "Like, uhh… Sorry, Elsa... I just… umm…. Well… It looked like you were… umm… It just felt… right." he stammered over the music. He never blatantly grabbed a woman's ass before. But, seeing Elsa move like she had the confidence of a dead fish, he had a feeling like he knew what was bringing her down, also remembering their mall talk. He would blame his lust that was caused by the women's actions, but it seemed like he should play along with the antics to show Elsa that she was attractive in her own right. Not the smartest plan, but his heart was in the right place.

"Way to go, Elsa! You hooked him. Now reel him in!" Winnie said in support, slapping Elsa on the back. The makeshift woman flustered, but began to feel better about herself. How could she not when her boyfriend thought it was right to want to touch her? She resumed her dancing, noticeably better with more confidence.

Back to the present moment, Shaggy stumbled along the main area of Club Chill, the time within the private karaoke room still fresh on his mind. Close behind were his ghoulfriends, satisfied with their actions. If they could make him this crazy just from semi-erotic dancing, they began to speculate how much he'd react when they finally decide to consummate the relationship.

"That was... interesting. I've never done something so… lewd." Sibella remarked, her voice low with a mixture of regret and exhilaration. Grinding against and groping other women the way she did was definitely something new to her, even with the fact that the majority of her teen life was spent solely with other females.

"Ahem… Remember our little fashion show, 'Bella?" Winnie asked, calling out Sibella's statement. She knew the normally-formal bat had a wild side in her. If only she would relax about it and just let some things roll. Winnie did see her 'move first', but she certainly hadn't mastered 'think never' yet.

"I remember. But I think you'll remember that I didn't grab your butt or compare our chest sizes by hugging. I wonder if this world is bringing out something in me." the purple bat pondered, crossing her arms as the group followed their mate.

"Oh, I doubt it's the human realm that's doing it." Phantasma sang in a knowing manner, her usual grin showing itself. "No use hiding it, Sibella. C'mon, you had fun. We all know you had fun when we saw that slap-happy smile you had when Shaggy saw you shake those hips. And what hips they are!"

"Hey, you ain't the only one, 'Bella. Check out our resident social outcasts. They didn't seem to be wallflowers in there, that's for sure." Winnie nodded her head toward Elsa and Tanis, who suddenly wanted to hide again, this time from their friends. Sibella dropped her arms and let out a sigh. They did have a point. Whatever this increased willingness to express her desire in such provocative ways was, it didn't seem to really hurt herself or anybody. Especially because of her father's downfall, she was truly free. Free to keep being herself, free to let her hair down now and then, free to do things as she saw fit. As if that wasn't enough, she had the fact that all she was doing was expressing love for her chosen mate, nothing less.

Meanwhile, all Shaggy could still think about was his women. To think that he has a chance to spend his entire life with such wonderful beauties….

A thought began manifesting itself in his head, despite the haze of ghoul-induced lust. 'Wonder what tomorrow's going to bring.' The Hex Girls were coming. Funny how all the sudden, women keep stopping by… It almost seemed like fate. Or perhaps something written in some sort of comedy. But for the time being, the laid-back beatnik would take things as they came. He had a home, he had friends, he found love. What could go wrong?

**Author's Notes:** And that's chapter 9 in the books! Recently been put in a spot in life where typing my fanfiction and surfing the net are sometimes my only sources of entertainment as of late, so here's a finished chapter so soon. My only question is if I'm doing this whole "polygamous relationship" gimmick right so far, considering everyone's personalities and how they might interact. Would greatly appreciate reviews to tell of how I'm doing with that, especially since, according to my Poll so far, the idea of adding the Hex Girls into the harem is winning by one hell of a landslide victory. So I'm going to need feedback, especially if anything needs any sort of tweaking or improvement.

Secondly, I didn't realize this until I was typing these notes, but my song choice for the Shaggy/Phanty moment is an unintended case of ironic humor concerning Phantasma, considering that it's "Don't Fear The Reaper" by... BLUE Oyster Cult. Phanty? Blue? Lol.

Reference Footnote: 1) The Blue World Order (b.W.o., for short) is a pro-wrestling faction from a company called ECW in the 90's that was a blatant parody of WCW's (no, Millennials, not "Woman Crush Wednesdays") world-famous villainous team, the New World Order (or n.W.o., for short). The bWo was a surreal comedy type of team, known for making themselves look like wannabe-jackasses while still managing to kick a decent level of ass and become fairly popular in ECW. Some of the ways they ripped on the nWo included their catchphrase, "We're taking over!", and the fact that they took short segments of the weekly ECW TV show to forcibly plug their merchandise by yelling "BUY THE SHIRT!" repeatedly at the camera, waving said t-shirt around. All while obsessing over the color blue. Sounds perfect for Phantasma, am I right? To see what the outfit Phanty wears looks like, google images of "Blue World Order's Stevie Richards" or find videos of the bWo.

Speaking of plugging merchandise (of sorts), I have a new fanfic up that answers a request made by a couple of reviewers of this very story! Feel free to check it out. It's called "Meet My Student". At the moment, it's a one-shot Shaggy/Winnie story (which was the request) where Mystery Inc runs into Winnie alone during another typical costumed-criminal case. But I may expand it into a short anthology of 5 stand-alone, unconnected "What if?" one-shots about Mystery Inc encountering each Ghoul School girl and Shaggy hooking up with her by the end of each one shot. Read the fic! Read the fic! Read the fic! (Alright, enough bWo jokes…)

REVIEW REPLIES – Five seconds into replying to your reviews and he types out a description of giving you a certain look…. (To be fair, I did include a Netflix and Chill joke in this chapter)

The Keeper Of Worlds – I guess Dracula won't be an ass man for a while! HA! As for your poll vote, unfortunately, you would be in quite the minority. Apparently, people love the idea of a huge-ass harem. Lol. Who am I? JP-Ryder (fanfic writer on here that keeps writing cool Teen Titans crossover stories where Beast Boy gets harems)? I might throw in more references and encounters, depending on where the direction of the story takes me.

Kellybug – I hope you enjoyed the featured Phantasma insanity (and her tender karaoke moment with Shaggy) in this chapter.

Tony – Not sure if I should include the Calloways, to be honest. Perhaps if the story needs another opponent for The Harem to fight… Lol.

Nightmaster000 – Well, I hope I handled the beginning of his love life alright enough. Trying to keep Shaggy in character enough as a guy trying to get used to having lovers and testing the boundaries of what he can and can't, should and shouldn't do with them yet. As for movie/cartoon episodes, I'm really not sure, as I haven't actually sat down and watched anything Scooby in a while. Haven't seen a lot of the recent stuff…

Karlos1234ify – "Achievement Unlocked: 20g – HAREM!" Way to go, Shaggy.

The Scottish Hippie – Who said I was finished with this? Lol. I hope the latest installment is to your liking.

364wii – I felt that Shaggy cussing would serve as a "He's definitely had enough of enemy's crap" kind of moment. I mean, what father shoves his own daughter to the ground like that? Lol.

That ManX – I hope a group date works for ya. Perhaps I can work in a chapter of solo dates. As for Fred, I wasn't trying to make him seem like a jerk or anything. More like the kind of guy that can't catch a break sometimes. But hey, he does have Daphne. So he's got that going for him.

Inconsistencies/Poor Velma Guy – Well, I corrected my mistake and even mentioned a little in this new chapter about Velma possibly having unrequited feelings. I went for the "figured she'd have plenty of time, but too late" vibe. But of course, with the harem thing, there could be room for her later, if things worked out as such. Although, with the Hex Girls and her added in…. 9 women… Damn, Shaggy would probably have a hell of a time keeping THAT many women happy! I hope I didn't end up biting off more than I can chew when it comes to making this idea seem plausible. Lol.

stiven54 – From the write-up of the movie synopsis I looked up, to refresh my memory, Shaggy and Co. managed to undo Dracula's curse with the book they stole from him as they were fleeing him at the end of the movie.

Sgt. Moore and Mr.G – See my Shameless Plug that came just before this segment. You got your wish, thanks to random inspiration. Hope you guys like.

killjoytommy – Looking back, I can definitely see the comparison between Phanty and Tiny Tina. That kind of attitude just seems to suit her. Perhaps I should have Sibella dress like Mad Moxxi next?


	10. Commander Cool: Civil War?

Author's Note: Whew… I really should be getting back to this story, shouldn't I? I apologize for the delay. A part of me is still trying to figure out where to take the plot from here when it comes to the idea of the Hex Girls and the Grimwood Ghouls meeting each other. Do they get jealous? Would they be merely civil? Would the Goths and the Ghouls take an interest in each other in an "interest in the supernatural + the actual supernatural" kind of way? And what about poor Velma, having seemingly lost her chance at Shaggy? Lots of moving parts, lots of characters… Might be a tough act to juggle around.

The title for this chapter refers to the 'superhero' alias Shaggy had in the "Pup Named Scooby Doo" cartoon. I just had to use it because of the obvious hoopla over a certain Captain America movie that's massively popular. I mean, everyone was talking about it, why not me too?

Disclaimer: We already know this by now…..

Chapter 10: Commander Cool: Civil War?

As far as Shaggy knew, he never recalled buying himself a large, fancy, curtained bed with purple sheets, purple curtains, and purple pillows. A glance around as he regained consciousness from a good night's sleep and he began wondering when his apartment gained such luxurious furnishings or even such a high ceiling with even a candlelit chandelier. Such craftsmanship of the walls and ceiling… It reminded him of the inside of a cathedral or perhaps a castle. Sitting up, the sheets moved slightly along the lavish bed. Feeling a slight draft, he was confused as to why he was apparently shirtless. Last he knew, he at least had a t-shirt and boxers on, mostly because of his new numerous bedmates. Curiosity getting the better of him, he lifted the sheets up. He was apparently naked.

He wasn't alone either, judging from the forms of bodies that surrounded him, his eyes drawn more toward the purple skin of a certain new royal girlfriend of his. Having felt him move around, Sibella turned her body to face him as he dropped the blanket back down, her eyes as alluring as ever. "Couldn't sleep, my mate?" she whispered, a fanged smirk gracing her sensual face. Oh, how he could never tire of seeing such a look, now that he had given in to his feelings.

"Like… Where are we? How did we get, like, here?" he asked, fairly confused. Her smirk turned to an amused grin. "Oh, were we that good, my love?" she asked as she sat up as well, not caring that gravity allowed the blanket to reveal her ample chest. "We are home, having celebrated the consummation of our love. I at least hope you can remember how fang-tastic you were. Mmmm…" she moaned as she cuddled against him. Home? Consummated? How long had the coward been out of it?

More movement, this time to his left. He turned his head, only to come face to face with someone he hadn't seen in so long. Sally "Thorn" McKnight, leader of the Hex Girls. Despite being a Goth, the smile she wore seemed to project a demeanor a lot more pleasant. "Did we wear you out to the point of having amnesia, Shaggy? Tsk tsk… I knew we were good, but wow…" Thorn commented in a mock-impressed tone. Was it Shaggy or did Thorn appear to also have fangs…? After all, this obviously wasn't time for a gig. Why the prop-fangs now? Was she playing another joke on him, like when he first met her? In any case, Shaggy got another eyeful of feminine flesh as Thorn appeared to be wearing nothing except for her red bat necklace that she always wore.

"Umm… Hi, Thorn." Shaggy said with a clueless chuckle, his mind tied between figuring out what was going on and trying not to blatantly stare. Was Thorn always that pale?

Even more movement as two more women rose from their sleep. Dusk and Luna, the rest of the band. "Aw, no greeting for the rest of us? How rude, Shaggy." Dusk jokingly chided as she ran a hand through her blonde hair, kept in pigtails even in bed. The only things clad on her body were her X necklace, her choker, and her green triangle earrings. Her eyes, heavy with eyeshadow, roamed over Shaggy's visible upper half as if she were hungry for more carnal activity. "Perhaps we should… discipline you for that."

Luna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "As if you didn't get enough of trying that earlier, Dusk. You always were the fierce one… Never knew that extended to your sex life until last night." the redhead said, cutting off Shaggy before he could express his nervous reaction to the idea of being disciplined, whatever that meant. Shaggy couldn't help but notice that Luna, like Thorn and Dusk, was also paler than usual. Although the noticeability of that had more to do with the fact that Luna's skin tone was normally somewhat darker than the others. Like her bandmates, Luna also wore nothing but her jewelry for some reason, consisting of her gold necklace and hoop earrings.

"That's what happens when we decide to share a man, I guess. We learn everyone's kinks. First time for everything!" Dusk said with a grin. She seemed very chipper about this. Thorn and Sibella chuckled at the blonde's enthusiasm as Luna rolled her eyes. Shaggy, meanwhile, was still trying to figure out how he ended up in such a strange yet fortunate scenario. He didn't remember anything. Anything at all. The last thing he truly recalled was how happy his students-turned-lovers were when they got home from their group date at Club Chill.

He was brought back to the present when Sibella gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You can't sleep and yet you can't remain conscious either. You'll learn to keep up, dear." she cooed into his ear. He instantly felt a certain something down south react, his face turning red as a result.

"Like, uh, what? Um… What's going on, Sibella? Seriously, like, I… don't remember anything before this. Where are the others? What's with this room? Uh..." he turned his attention toward the other three girls. "Why do you have your prop-fangs on, girls…?"

All four females grew concerned. "Shaggy, dear… You really don't remember…? Our courtship…? Our wedding…? Our initiation?" Sibella asked, worried that her Shaggy would lose such cherished memories. To her fear, Shaggy's expression grew more baffled.

"Like, wedding?! We got married?! Why don't I remember… Huh? Initiation? Initiation into what?" he asked, his mind catching her last question a little late. Sibella closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You forgot how I claimed you, my love? And how we, in turn, claimed our brides here?" Sibella asked, waving a hand to indicate the Hex Girls.

It was then that Shaggy noticed something about his three human friends… Something on the side of their necks. He focused his attention on Thorn, the closest Hex Girl. Cautiously reaching out, he gently pushed aside some of her long red-highlighted black hair, getting a pleased hum of contentment out of Thorn in response. There, on the side of her neck, exposed for Shaggy to see, were two small puncture wounds, decorated with splotches of dried blood… "Oh, that was a fun moment, wasn't it, my lord?" Thorn quipped. Wait… Since when did any of the headstrong, independent Hex Girls call anyone their 'lord'…?

He knew what that wound meant… Clapping a hand to his own neck, he felt around. A momentary flare of pain meant he had found what he didn't want to find. The flecks of dried blood on his fingers confirmed it…

They were all vampires.

Sibella had turned him.

They both had turned his musical friends.

Shaggy had become Dracula.

Jolting himself awake to the imagined sounds of mocking laughter from the King of Vampires, Shaggy stared upward. His own bedroom's ceiling, nothing more. The familiar weight of the Grimwood Ghouls dogpiling on him in their own haphazard slumber helped to assure him that he was indeed back in the real world. Moments later, he realized that he had woke somebody up as a slender purple hand gently caressed his cheek. Tilting his head left, he looked into the worried dimly-glowing green eyes of Sibella, the frown he could barely see in the relative darkness silently expressing the question she wanted to ask as everyone else slept: 'Are you ok?'. Ironic, as it was her that the freaky dream had been about…

'Naaaah, she wouldn't turn me. Would she? Like, maybe if I wanted to, she would…' he thought as he carefully leaned his head forward and kissed her, a silent reassurance. The little smile on her face told him what he needed to know. He could always trust her. Sure, she mentioned something about possibly 'helping her run Transylvania' whenever her defeated father decided to officially step down (or die, whichever came first), but he could help out as her consort while remaining human. Couldn't he…?

Perhaps he'd bring the subject up to her after the Hex Girls visit… Right now, it was only 3:07 in the morning. The vampiress nuzzling into his side was enough of a reminder that he should rejoin his ghoulfriends in dreamland. And so, with thoughts of the next day in mind, he slowly drifted back to sleep. The last thing he felt as he lost consciousness was the now-familiar tugging at his neck of a sleepy Sibella.

This time, his dreams were filled with the sounds of howling (and singing) she-wolves… Winnie sneezed in her sleep.

Exhausted and apprehensive from his sleep full of strange dreams, Shaggy coasted through breakfast that morning, a fact that was impossible to hide from his ghoulfriends and Scooby. Sibella, being the only one that had an idea of what caused his lack of energy, wondered what dreams had plagued his mind. Perhaps their recent fight against Dracula had caught up to him.

"Shaggy, dear, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?" the vampiress asked, the same worried frown on her face that Shaggy saw last night. Gracefully, she placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of him, having taken up the task of cooking in lieu of Shaggy's lethargic behavior.

"What…? Like… Not really…" he answered, trying to sound as casual as he could. He didn't want to bother his new lovers with his troubles. Not with the Hex Girls coming over. Today was supposed to be a fun day. Why bring down the mood?

Sibella lightly slapped him upside the head with a palm, making a series of 'tsk' noises as she did so. "Don't think I haven't heard about this kind of behavior before, my mate. You were plagued by dreams last night. Whatever is worrying you, please don't shut us out. We can do a lot more for you than just keep you company, you know." She should have figured that her favorite human would be the kind that would sometimes be too nice for his own good.

"Bad dreams? How bad? Getting mauled by something? Feeling lost? Falling? Having to go… ugh… vegetarian?" Winnie asked, curious. Everyone stared at her about the last one. "What?! I'm a carnivore, remember? Jeez…"

"Oooh, I hope it's not because I became your pillow again." Phanty piped up, worried. "I hear that sometimes ectoplasm can do some weird things. Maybe my body was messing with your head! Aww! I didn't mean to do that! I swear, I'm sorry, Shags!" She got off of her seat and groveled on her knees by Shaggy, an overreaction by everyone else's standards. Shaggy felt awkward, but used to the ghost's hyperactive actions.

"Phanty… Like, please get up. I really don't think it was you. I mean, like, my head's not glowing or something, right?" he asked. He certainly didn't feel weird or unusual when he woke up. Just exhausted. Phantasma shook her head. "Then you didn't do anything. Although, you really don't have to be my pillow like that."

"I know. I like it, though. My way of getting close to you. That way, I don't have to squabble with everyone else over a spot on the bed." Phanty said as she floated up and gave her favorite human playmate a quick hug and a kiss before going back to her seat.

"Being a ghost….has its advantages." Elsa remarked, considering the ghost's logic as cheap yet effective. She wasn't about to argue over it, though. It was hard enough to get a good sleeping spot without the ghost adding to it. But none of the ghouls wanted to sleep in their own beds. Perhaps when the novelty of a relationship began to feel like a normal thing to the Ghouls, the need for a spacious mattress to sleep on would take a higher priority, Elsa's logical mind figured. Not that she minded the cramped arrangement, of course. One must simply take all possibilities into account.

"What were the dreams about, Shaggy…?" came Tanis' shy voice as she ate her own breakfast, a Grimwood School classic called 'Scream of Wheat'. Sibella and Winnie, ever the protective ones, gave their beau expectant looks. Shaggy gulped, unsure of what the group's reaction would be. Still, Sibella did have a point…

"Uhh… Like… I'm not really sure, to be honest… Stuff about you all and my friends, the Hex Girls. Like, a series of visions or something. First, there was me and Sibella in a fancy purple bed with them… We were, like, all naked. But I found out that we were all turned into vampires! I woke up. When I went back to sleep, another dream came. This time, I was in a forest, wandering around until a pack of giant wolves surrounded me. It was a night of a full moon. Like, Winnie was one of the wolves. But then I noticed that I was… um… a little too hairy… And the other wolves smelled familiar…"

"So I turned you and your friends this time, eh? I smell a pattern here…" Winnie said, trying to picture what Shaggy would look like as a full-fledged werewolf. Phantasma raised her hand frantically as if she were still in school.

"Ooh! Ooh! What about me? Did I get a dream too, Shags?!" she asked excitedly, practically quivering from the mere thought of her playmate dreaming of her.

"Like, yeah… Umm… In that one, the Hex Girls and I all died and became ghosts… Afterward, because of your interest in music, Phanty, you ended up joining the band and all four of you were, like, practicing songs." Shaggy said, chuckling a little. Phantasma, however, wasn't sure how to feel.

"You dreamed that you died…? That's… sad. I mean, I would appreciate the company, of course, and the idea of me being in a band is pretty cool, but… I wouldn't want you to join me in death for that to happen. I dunno what to think… Is that cool that we're all ghosts together forever or does it suck that you died so early or is it a bit of both, it's so confusing…" Phantasma rambled, appearing to deflate a little.

"It was only a dream, Phantasma. We're all fine and nothing like that's going to happen." Elsa said, matter-of-factly. She felt sympathetic for her nutty friend, of course, but the golem saw no need to sugarcoat things. Elsa then turned her attention to Shaggy. "What about me, Shaggy?"

Shaggy gulped. "Uhh… Like, that was a weird one. For some reason, you wanted to conduct some experiments on the Hex Girls and myself. Like, really wanted to. I guess you wanted to create more people like yourself or something. We all ended up… uhh… like, a little mixed up…" he trailed off. Most of the Ghouls raised their eyebrows. Sibella and Winnie had a feeling that they knew where this dream was going. Phantasma, also having an idea, let out a little 'eep' and hid under the table.

"You mean…?" Elsa prodded.

"Like, my head was attached to Thorn's chest, which had Dusk's legs and Luna's arms…."

Everyone paused at this, trying to picture their man with his head on a woman's body. The resulting images were beyond strange. Sibella's mental picture, for instance, imagined Shaggy's head on HER body. Winnie, being ever the lewd one, imagined the transplanted Shaggy being on the business end of a man's advances, despite his head clearly being the same definitely-male form which would have probably deterred many if such a scenario had happened.

"You can rest assured, Shaggy, that I would never do such a thing to you, especially without your consent!" Elsa declared as she meekly hoped that he wouldn't grow nervous around her because of a dream.

"Like, it's ok, Elsa. I know." Shaggy reassured her. "It was only a dream."

"What'd you do in that dream?" Sibella asked, curious of what the dream incarnation of Shaggy would have done in that kind of scenario.

"Well, first, I freaked out about it. Then, like, the girls freaked out, as we were all rearranged. I think Dusk ended up with my torso. And then, uhh… umm…" Shaggy trailed off, his cheeks slightly turning red.

"And then?" Winnie asked, having a hunch.

"…I got curious." he timidly said, not wanting to fully admit what he did. He started fidgeting with his hands, halfheartedly scooping brown sugar into his oatmeal.

"Curious? About what?" Tanis asked, her head tilted in innocent inquisitive wonder. Phantasma peeked her head out by phasing it through the table, also wondering what her boy toy got curious about. Shaggy never found stirring his oatmeal as interesting as he did now, embarrassment practically radiating out of his lanky form.

"I… uhh… I kinda… played with Thorn's… breasts…"

Winnie had a predatory grin on her face, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Ah, so you DO have a wild side. Having a little wet dream... How naughty of you! Girls, should we punish him for dreaming of other women?" she asked, clearly joking around.

Sibella, however, seemed to be all business. "Now, Winnie, let's not get all hasty now. After all, what would you do if your consciousness was suddenly attached to Shaggy's body? I somehow doubt that you'd resist the urge to see how 'it' feels." Her sly grin accentuated her remark as Winnie's grin fell. The werewolf contemplated the question for a moment.

"Huh… Alright, ya got me there. I'd totally play with it…" Winnie grumbled, her face going a little red. Shaggy chuckled timidly, as he was the hypothetical example of Sibella's question. He wasn't sure whether to feel weirded out or honored that Winnie would want to play with his crotch if her consciousness somehow got placed in his body. He leaned toward honored, seeing as she was his girlfriend now. One of his girlfriends, he mentally amended. The harem idea was still an adjustment for him.

Tanis raised her hand, her face completely red from being unable to stop herself from thinking about what the Ghouls were bantering over. "Umm… Shaggy? What about me…? Did I appear in a dream too?" she shyly asked, fidgeting with a loose bandage.

"Like, yeah. You did, but nothing really embarrassing happened, like, so ya don't have to worry about that. Basically, you somehow turned the Hex Girls and myself into mummies and we all ended up moving into a tomb together. For some reason, we weren't covered in bandages like you usually are. Like, we just looked really dead and were dressed up in some sort of Egyptian clothes that didn't really cover much… Hmm… Like, I guess that part might be a little awkward for you."

"Umm… What were we doing in that dream?" Tanis wasn't sure that she wanted to know, but she was curious anyway.

"That's the odd thing. Like, we were just sitting around and watching a movie. I think, like, it was one called 'Soccer Mummy'…."

-Dream Flashback-

Inside Tanis' tomb, on a fancy Egyptian-style couch, sat five mummies. At least one of which fit the description of a traditional mummy, anyway… Tanis' grown-up figure still aptly visible through the bandages, due to the fact that she purposefully had them wrapped a little tight. She had grown to like making herself as appealing as possible to her "beloved pharaoh", Shaggy, after he helped her come out of her shell of timidity. She still felt uncomfortable about completely shedding the bandages, unlike her fellow undead.

Thorn, Dusk, and Luna, their skin now as dark-grey as Tanis', flanked Shaggy on the couch. The dark-haired band leader sat on Shaggy's lap while her bandmates sat to his right and left. All three sported nothing but simple black dresses as they watched the TV. Shaggy appeared to look like Egyptian royalty with the attire that Tanis awkwardly insisted that he wear. A white tunic, fancy golden necklaces, and a golden headpiece.

The TV showed a movie of a mummy, apparently, joining a human soccer team. Currently, the mummy had stopped during a game because he noticed the jumping, jiggling cheerleaders… "Uh oh! The professor said not to let him get a boner!" one of the players said to another… (1)

-Back to reality-

"…and that was, like, pretty much it. Guess Tanis might be more of a homebody, huh?" Shaggy said, ending his story. Tanis blushed, giggling a little. It was true that she didn't really get out of her tomb much when at home.

"Um… Well… I wouldn't be that opposed to… uh… exploring…" Tanis answered, finding the floor an interesting view.

"Exploring what? The land or Shaggy's body?" Winnie joked with a wink, causing Tanis to let out a timid yelp and hide under the table with Phantasma.

"Like, Winnie…" Shaggy warned as he got up and knelt down to check on the meek mummy.

"Aw, come on, Shaggy. Ya know I was just joking around. Nothing wrong with either of those options!" Winnie lightly protested as Sibella and Elsa quietly chuckled at Winnie's apparent 'foot-in-mouth syndrome'.

Moments after Shaggy looked under the table, Tanis and Phantasma came out from there. The ghost had jovially tied her few random loose bandages up into cute little bows, much to Tanis' awkward chagrin.

"It's ok, Shaggy. I know Winnie was trying to be funny…" Tanis said, clinging to her new boyfriend, who stood up. Her height caused her to be hanging off of the lanky mystery-solver. Tanis wrapped her legs as best she could around him so she wouldn't fall. The others noticed, realizing the benefits of the mummy's actions.

"Why does she get to be that clingy? I wanna hug too…" Winnie grumbled. Immediately, pale blue hands wrapped around her from behind and she found herself hovering in midair. Phantasma had seen fit to give her the hug that the werewolf seemed to have desired.

"Lemme give ya one, Win-Win! I'm a hugger! See?" the ghost exclaimed in joy as the werewolf squirmed in the ghost's surprisingly solid grip. At this, everyone else had a good laugh.

Winnie just wasn't going to win this morning…

A few hours later, a tour bus rolled into Coolsville, painted mostly black with a few marks of Halloween-orange, mainly the HEX insignia on both sides and the back, although it was also marked with little text like email addresses and a phone number for bookings. Like Elsa had done for the Grimwood Ghouls just a few scant weeks before, it was Sally "Thorn" McKnight that was driving the sizable vehicle into the hometown of Mystery Inc. One would have thought that the band would have hired at least a driver, what with their success as of late. But not these women.

Inside the tour bus, decorated to their spooky specifications, the tour bus was like a small but luxurious apartment. A well-stocked fridge, a big-screen TV with DVD player and video games, a bathroom, small shelves of books and other items of entertainment, and a bedroom in back. Luna was keeping herself busy with a book while Dusk let her mind wander as she almost-subconsciously practiced the beats to one of her drum solos on the table she was sitting at with her hands, the noise surprisingly not annoying to the other two women.

"Hey, Thorn. Think we'll catch the gang by surprise? I don't think we gave them an exact time when we told them we were coming." Luna asked, a smirk growing as she pictured them just entering Mystery Inc's home by surprise, not unlike the character Kramer from the old sitcom, Seinfeld. Of course, unlike the goofball of TV fame, Luna pictured some sort of spooky disguise involved to scare their favorite cowards, Shaggy and Scooby. She couldn't put a finger on the reason, but there was just something about pulling pranks on those two that was simply a joy. Whatever the reason, it definitely wasn't out of malice. Not even close to that.

"Oh, I think they'll just be glad to see us when we get there. We've never actually came to visit them, after all. Then again, with how often they travel, I somehow doubt they get many visitors." Thorn mused aloud, their bus' GPS system directing her throughout the streets of Coolsville. So far, from what she saw as she drove, it seemed like a pleasant enough town. She wondered if there was a place in town where she could get supplies for her herbal remedies. It still hasn't gotten any easier singing on long tours… Not to mention, she had been having a sort of feeling that she might be needing any help her knowledge of the Wiccan ways can provide. Very strange…

"Ya know what'd be funny? If Shaggy and Scooby scared us for a change! It'd be so surreal." Dusk snickered as she kept drumming passively. The others rolled their eyes, grinning. As much as they thought highly of the two friends, they'd both eat their official Hex Girls t-shirt if those two ever did anything that actually scared the crap out of them.

Thorn scoffed. "They'd only scare us if they'd somehow manage to actually gain a few hundred pounds with the way they eat! Incoming heart attacks!" As she snickered, her mind pictured herself rolling a bloated, ball-shaped Shaggy around by pushing him. The mental image version of herself stopped, shrugged, and then jumped on top of him and rolled him along by walking on him like some sort of circus balancing act.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want them dying on us. Death by food… Now that'd be a cold fate for those two." Luna remarked, a part of her appreciating how macabre the thought was, despite the subject of the thought.

"After years of choking the chicken, the chicken chokes them! Wait… That's not the right joke…" Dusk groaned. Luna looked over at the blonde, pigtailed bandmate like she just grew a second head. After a moment, Thorn just laughed. Somehow, she had mentally pictured the giant yellow humanoid chicken from Family Guy attacking Shaggy for some random reason.

Visiting their friends would be the best for them, Thorn thought. It could get awfully lonely on the road, even with their agents, stage crew, and managers. Sure, they got to know a good number of the staff, as most had worked with the band for quite some time. But the Girls never really got to bond with them, except for the occasional after-show drink somewhere to celebrate a milestone or a new hit album.

But by the end of the afternoon, they would get more than they bargained for…

All five members of Mystery Inc stood outside the partially-damaged gate to their apartment complex. They had agreed that the Ghouls wouldn't be revealed to the Hex Girls until the humans and dog had spoken to them about their additional company. Most of the Ghouls also agreed with the logic. Winnie had wanted to playfully scare them and Phantasma's curiosity was getting the better of her, but they eventually agreed.

Luckily for the group, they didn't have to wait long. The hulking tour bus that came around a corner and headed their way had to be them. The familiar logo was only further proof as the bus slowed alongside them and stopped, the engine cut a moment after. The door opened to reveal two of the three friends, each dressed in their stage gear, including their faux vampire fangs.

"Hey, strangers. Long time." Dusk greeted with a fanged grin. Just then, Thorn appeared behind her two bandmates, her fangs also on.

"Tell us about it. How goes the tour?" Fred asked, before anyone else could get a greeting in.

"Oh, very successful so far. Good to see some time off didn't make society forget us. How about this tour bus? Custom made to our spook-ifications." Thorn answered as the Girls stepped off the bus.

"Like, that's awesome! I'd hate to think of the price tag on that." Shaggy said as he gave the bus a good look. He whistled. "Yeah, like, definitely pricy!"

"Amazing what a new album and some great concerts sold out in advance can get ya, huh Shaggy?" Dusk bragged, standing next to the skinny coward, joining him in admiring the recent acquisition. After a moment, the blonde gave Shaggy a hug.

"It's wonderful to see you guys again! And hey, no ghostly witches this time, right?" Dusk snickered, remembering the 'good circumstances' in which they first met Mystery Inc. At her question, Shaggy grew a little nervous. After all, there was indeed a ghost around again. A friendly one, but still…

As he thought that, a pair of invisible eyes spotted the hug as the being they belonged to pondered the new women. Was it her or was that hug more than just a friend hug? Or was the closeness because the blonde human hadn't seen her friends in a long time? And why was she still hugging him? Oh, right. She was waiting for Shaggy to return the hug. ….About time he returned it, the awkward lug. Phantasma giggled as quietly as she could about that, keeping a respective distance away while still being able to hear what was being said.

While Phantasma eavesdropped on the Hex Girls and Mystery Inc chatting about their recent events in life, another individual had grown curious of the situation. Although she wouldn't admit that her own curiosity had gotten the better of her, of course. After all, she did tell her beloved that she would stay behind until his say so. She didn't want him thinking that she was untrustworthy.

But who would notice a small purple bat flying around if she remained out of the way enough? Sibella once again pondered if the human realm was changing her personality somehow, her prim and proper ways slowly being discarded for brash actions like spying on her love's friends when she was going to meet them soon anyway.

Nonetheless, from what she saw, the newcomers definitely seemed like interesting humans. It appeared as though the trio were glad to see all five members of Mystery Inc, unlike what Winnie had grumbled about them possibly being attracted to Shaggy. Although, there was that hug that the blonde had given him… But no, this wasn't the time or place to be worrying about things like competition. Chalk it up to Winnie's animal instincts being territorial again.

Speaking of animal instincts… Winnie skulked amongst the bushes, her skills being put to good use to make her approach as quiet as possible so she could get a look at these Hex Girls. Her slow, stealthy movements made it so she missed a good chunk of the conversation, but that was better than her being caught. From what she could tell, with her vision slightly hindered by the leaves and branches of the bushes she was sneaking through as well as the bars of the fence that separated the yard from the sidewalk and road, the new women were indeed vampire wannabes. The clothes, the makeup, the fake fangs… And they were attractive. She didn't know what to make of that particular fact. Her territorial instincts were growling about how they might 'steal her mate'. But she knew better. Shaggy was allowed to have more friends, was he not?

Back in the apartment building, two binoculars looked out upon the gathering at the front gate.

"I can't believe we're spying on poor Shaggy like this… I think we should have waited for Shaggy to introduce us to them…" Tanis grumbled as she looked upon the visitors. Tanis had a hunch that the pale one with the dark hair was most likely the leader, as she carried herself with a similar confident manner as Sibella.

"Try telling that to the others. Especially Phantasma. We all know what she's like when she's sorely tempted to do something…" Elsa responded with a knowing smirk, having predicted to herself that Shaggy's request to stay put would somehow be disobeyed.

"Ohhh… I just hope nothing bad happens…" the height-challenged mummy whimpered. Despite her concern, both kept watching through their binoculars….

"…and that's how we came up with our new hit song." Thorn finished, having just told a story about their latest shenanigans. It turned out that the Hex Girls had their own share of adventures and odd events happening since their last physical run-in with Mystery Inc. Now they knew how Shaggy and the others felt on the road.

"Rat's rawsome!" Scooby commented, clapping a little.

"Like, yeah. Rock bands always have, like, these crazy stories, man." Shaggy agreed, momentarily breaking out into an air guitar session to ham it up. The Hex Girls chuckled at his antics. Same ol' Shaggy. Just for kicks, Dusk went to stand next to him and did her own air guitar gesturing. The two of them began to make corny guitar noises with their mouths. What sounded like third, more shrill voice chimed in with their guitar noises, causing the duo to stop.

"Like, was that you?" Shaggy asked, a little nervous.

"No, Shag. Wasn't that you?"

"Nope! Uhh… Maybe it was just how we sounded together?" Shaggy suggested lamely, glancing around. To his dismay, he caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of blue legs sticking out of the side of the bus, high up and thankfully unseen by anybody else. Phantasma got curious. Shaggy gulped, hoping that Phanty wouldn't misplace everything in there or something. Moments later, Phantasma's legs vanished into the bus as the ghost began exploring…

"You look spooked, Shag. Is something wrong?" Luna asked. Boy, what an ironic question.

"Like, maybe. Uhh… Perhaps it's, like, time I told ya what's been going on with us lately. So, uhh… Turns out you're not the only ones that came to visit us lately." Shaggy said, mentally flustered as he tried to quickly figure out how to properly reveal the Ghouls before Phanty caused some sort of freak-out. As dark as the Hex Girls' gimmick was, he still remembered the unpleasantness of the Witch's Ghost incident.

"Oh, really? Somebody have some family over? Other friends? Hmm… You wouldn't happen to have attracted a lovely woman, have you, Shaggy?" Thorn said in a teasing manner. Unlike what she expected, Shaggy wasn't embarrassed by the insinuation. Instead, he looked even more nervous.

'You don't know how right you are, Thorn.' Shaggy thought, nervously pulling at his shirt collar with a finger. "Uhh… Well, about that… Like, you remember what happened when we met?" he asked.

Thorn smiled, fondly. "Yeah. We bared our fangs and you got scared. Good times." she said, snickering as Shaggy's momentary groan of being reminded of that.

"Like, after that… with the Witch's Ghost." At that, the fond smile vanished.

"Yeah… Finding out that there is such a thing as the supernatural. Yeah, that was… quite the experience. Why are you bringing this up?" Thorn asked, perplexed. It did seem odd that having friends over had anything to do with the Witch's Ghost.

"Hehehe… He asks because of me!" a shrill, girly voice answered, coming from… the tour bus? Everyone looked toward the bus. A transparent white-and-blue head was sticking out of the side of the bus, grinning in joy. Mystery Inc all looked tense, not sure of how the Hex Girls would react to Phantasma. The three women stared wide-eyed at the newcomer. This was unexpected…

"Hey, how ya doin'?" Phantasma said in a brief, curt greeting that Beetlejuice would be proud of. This snapped everyone out of their stupors, mainly the Hex Girls.

"Shaggy…? Who is this?" Dusk asked, not taking her eyes off of the blue ghost as Phantasma innocently phased out of the bus and hovered around.

"Uh, like, this is Phantasma… She came to visit me." Shaggy answered, still trying to figure out if he should even reveal his relationship. Now he really was winging it.

Before Thorn could say anything in response, her hand was grabbed and excitedly shaken by Phantasma. "Nice to meet'cha! Phantasma Phantom. Shags has told us a lot about you guys since ya let him know you were coming. I always liked music a lot. Never got to see any bands close up, though. And now here's a band! Right here, in front of me! Nice bus, by the way. I really liked what you've done with it. Spooky! I could definitely make a home in there. Awesome instruments too! Bet they're better tuned than my stuff. Wouldn't surprise me! I've been told that I'm at least one-eighth banshee. Maybe we should—"

"Phanty!" Shaggy interrupted, his arms crossed. The ghost immediately stopped shaking Thorn's hand as she realized that she had blown her cover in all her excitement. She had disobeyed Shaggy's request to let him introduce his friends to the Ghouls his way. Letting go of said hand, she put her own hands behind herself and whistled, a nervous look of feigned innocence on her face.

"She seems… interesting." Luna chimed in, realizing that maybe this ghost was a lot less dangerous than the first one they met. Not to mention, she did like the ghost's high-heeled white boots… If only they were a darker color.

"Uh, yeah. Like, she's interesting alright. Well, I guess the secret's kinda out. Some of it anyway…" Shaggy grumbled. He was at least relieved that the Hex Girls didn't get defensive. He turned his attention to Phantasma. "Phanty, I thought we agreed that you'd stay in the apartment. Like, you know I was concerned about how to introduce you guys."

Phantasma, while ashamed, grew a little defiant. "But Shags, it's not like I'm the only one that snuck out. Have you looked toward the sky lately? Look carefully."

Shaggy looked up, as did the Hex Girls and the rest of Mystery Inc. Nothing. Just a nice peaceful day. Blue sky, a few puffy clouds here and there, the occasional small bat flying by…. Wait… Bat? Shaggy groaned again. Daphne and Velma chuckled at the curiosity of the Grimwood Ghouls. They couldn't really blame them for wanting a closer look. With their career of being 'meddling kids', how could they?

"Like, how would you girls like to meet a real vampire…?" Shaggy said in a somewhat defeated tone.

"Vampire? But it's daytime." Thorn pointed out, to which Shaggy shrugged.

"Like, sunlight doesn't bother this one as much." he said before cupping his hands around his mouth and tilted his head skyward. "HEY, SIBELLA! YOU CAN, LIKE, COME DOWN NOW! WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"

In response, the little purple bat flinched, having figured that Phantasma would have seen her and tattled on her once she made her presence known. Swooping downward, she decided to be mischievous with her beloved beau. Slowing her decent, she landed on top of Shaggy's head, just as she did when Mystery Inc was being introduced to the Ghouls. Shaggy sighed, even though the Hex Girls did smile and snicker.

"Cute bat, Shaggy." Thorn said, smirking. The shade of purple was a dead giveaway that this was indeed not a normal bat.

Luna already had her cell phone out, snapping a picture for herself. An annoyed Shaggy with a bat on his head. That'd be a good one to rib him with later. Carefully, Shaggy reached up and tried to grab Sibella without hurting her, the bat chittering in slight protest before deciding to let him grab her. He set the bat down on the ground before stepping backward. Sibella curled her wings around herself and slowly expanded, transforming into her humanoid form to the amazement of the Hex Girls. A real, authentic vampire.

"Shaggy, dear, I do hope you'll forgive our intrusion. I know curiosity killed the bat, but we just couldn't resist after hearing so much about your intriguing friends." Sibella assured him in her polite, debonair demeanor.

"You're a…" Luna started to ask, trailing off as they stared at the exotic beauty before them. Vampires always did have that effect on most humans… Males in particular, of course, but even the womenfolk had to admire (if not envy) the unnatural genetics.

"Vampire? Indeed." Sibella reached out for a handshake. "Greetings. I am Sibella…" she paused, appearing momentarily distracted by thought as if considering something. "Sibella Dracula."

Thorn was the first to accept the purple hand. "Most call me Thorn. So, you're THE Dracula? A lot different than the legends, I'd say."

Sibella graced her with a fanged smile, a small part of her cherishing what she was about to say. "Let's just say I recently inherited the family legacy. Coming of age, you know." The victory over her father still tasted as sweet as the freshest blood.

"Holy crap, that would mean you're the Queen of All Vampires, right?" Dusk asked, surprised that of all people, a friendly scaredy-cat like Shaggy knows such a high-ranking monster.

"Mm, eventually. I'm enjoying my time with my dearest friend. Besides, the less spoken of the… I believe your kind call it 'bureaucratic red tape', the better." Sibella replied, shaking her hand next.

"Vampire on vacation… If that ain't a surreal idea." Luna commented to the others.

"Tell us about it." Daphne answered, trying and failing to picture Sibella on a beach trying to suntan. Failing because her mind somehow twisted the imagery to Shaggy applying suntan lotion on the vampire's back, which somehow led to the two getting it on… The redhead did not want to know why her mind went there!

"Actually, I'm celebrating my graduation from school." the vampiress corrected.

"Really? Vampires have schools?" Thorn asked, eyebrows raised. She pondered if 'Blood Sucking 101' was an actual course for a vampire.

Phantasma giggled, feeling the need to speak up. "Silly! We all went to school! Shags here was a big part of our learning. At least to us, he was a big part. We coulda gone anywhere for graduation, now that I think about it, but all of us chose here."

"Shaggy the teacher, huh? Hmm… Well, he's friendly enough to be around students. Lemme guess…" Dusk said, getting a look of intense thought as she stared at Shaggy. "Hmmmm…. Home Ec. teacher? I mean, you and food, Shaggy. You gotta have some killer cooking skills!"

Shaggy was immensely elated that this meeting was going better than he thought. "Actually, like, I was their Gym teacher. It was the position the school was looking for when I applied."

"I can totally see that. Marathon runner, this one. Especially when scared." Thorn joked, playfully nudging Shaggy with an elbow. Sibella came up on Shaggy's other side and put an arm around him. "Oh, trust us. We know. Threaten to kill him once and he'd win all the footrace events of your kind's Summer Olympics competition." she said, grinning as Shaggy timidly groused. Maybe the meeting was going too well, now that the real vampire and the stage vampire were already double-teaming him with jokes.

"Hmm… They said 'all of us'. I assume there's more of your students around, Shaggy?" Luna asked, alert for any more surprises. Who knows what else had impulse behavior around here?

"Like, yeah. Five in total. It was a small school. Uh, like, either of you girls know if anybody else decided to sneak around?" he asked the two Ghouls. Phanty giggled, as usual. Sibella had a predatory sneer as she, with her arm still lovingly wrapped around Shaggy's torso, silently led her beau away from the Hex Girls and… toward the gateway? As they got closer, Shaggy noticed a section of the nearby bushes rustling, as if something was inside it, trying to back away.

"Oh, there's another somebody around here, dear Shaggy. If you all would gather around a moment!" Sibella finally spoke aloud to the others, her tone dripping of the satisfaction of cornering somebody. As they started to make their way over, the rustling suddenly got more violent and louder as a certain brown-furred, red-haired, well-endowed female stood up from it.

"Alright! Alright! Jeez, no need to embarrass me, 'Bella. C'mon… Ya caught me." Winnie grumbled as she stepped out of the bushes and dusted all the loose leaves and dirt off of herself.

"Ladies, this is Winnie, like, obviously a werewolf. Winnie, this is Thorn, Dusk, and Luna. The Hex Girls." Shaggy said, a nervous hand passively scratching the back of his head.

"Uh, never knew werewolves could be… well-equipped." Thorn pointed out. In her defense, who wouldn't notice Winnie's 'assets'? Especially with the werewolf's choice of clothing lately…

"All-natural, baby. Nice to meet'cha." Winnie's embarrassment at being caught by Sibella quickly gave way to her pride in her own appeal. Typical Winnie. The werewolf stuck out a fist instead of a hand. Nobody responded, leaving her hanging.

"What, no fist bump? C'mon, I don't bite… hard. Heh! Always wanted to say that! But seriously, I don't bite friends of Shaggy's." Winnie said in a confident, reassuring tone. Her friendly manner was offset by the fact that the innocent grin she showed revealed her pointy teeth… Nonetheless, Dusk offered the first fist bump response, made awkward by the human being on her guard.

"There ya go. No harm done, see?" Winnie said, dropping the fist. One was better than none, she supposed. Shaggy let out a little sigh of relief. Up until now, he thought Winnie was going to cause some sort of ruckus.

The werewolf approached the three women, got in between Luna and Thorn, and put an arm around each human's shoulders in a chummy manner. "So you're the women my mate's so thrilled to see, eh? Digging the fashion sense, for one thing." she said, casually.

And with that one statement, in Shaggy's mind, Winnie just causes some sort of ruckus…

"Whoa! Wait a minute…!" Thorn exclaimed, wriggling out of Winnie's friendly grasp. "Mate? Isn't Shaggy your teacher?"

"Yup." was the simple reply, the she-wolf clearly not giving a damn. Not maliciously, but just being direct about things.

"And you're how old?" Luna asked, also taken aback by Winnie's admission, but chose to stay where she was.

"Gonna be 20 in a few months. Human years, that is. Not canine years. Yeah, so Coach is a little older than me. Age gaps aren't really a concern to most werewolves unless the gap in question involves being too old to successfully breed." Winnie explained, as if that were the answer to all the questions. With her free hand, she passively examined her claws like a human would examine her fingernails.

The Hex Girls all weren't fully sure what to make of this situation. Shaggy, their good-natured, cowardly friend, had not only been a gym teacher for a class of monster girls at some point, but had the nerve to enter a relationship with one of his younger former students.

Not that the Hex Girls were strict followers of human society's laws, of course. Still… It did concern them.

"Shaggy, dear… Maybe we should explain…?" Sibella suggested, noticing the lost look her lover had. It wouldn't be long before the full secret was out in the open. The newcomers, to her, seemed a little agitated by Winnie's revelation. But, like a band-aid or a piece of duct tape across a mouth, it was probably better to get the whole explanation over with and see what happens. Secrets had a way of hurting, after all.

"That reminds me… Sibella, was it…?" Luna spoke up, Winnie having let her go a moment ago. "If Winnie is Shaggy's girlfriend, why are you calling Shaggy 'dear'? And why'd you put your arm around him the way you did earlier?"

"Very observant of you. Well… Um… I am aware that this goes against human societal protocol, but I too have made a claim on dearest Shaggy." Sibella announced. Just then, Phantasma floated up in front of Sibella, excited.

"Ooh! Me too! I made him my playmate! Neat, huh? In fact, we all like him. So instead of bickering and arguing and catfighting all the time, we decided to share!" the ghost cheerfully exclaimed. Sibella coughed lightly.

"You'll pardon her. She was never one for subtlety or tact. But facts are facts." Sibella said as she walked right through the giggling specter, the feeling of a body passing through her not unpleasant as Phanty kept quietly chanting "Playmate! Playmate!" in a sing-song voice to herself.

Shaggy, the poor man, suddenly felt as if he were up against a wall as he studied the faces of his musical friends. It didn't look particularly favorable as they appeared to be troubled. This wouldn't have happened if the Ghouls had stayed in the…no… No, he wasn't going to go down that road, even in his head. As outgoing as Winnie and Phantasma were, this kind of scenario would have happened one way or the other, he realized just then.

Velma turned to Fred and Daphne, intrigued. "Hmm… Just think. In some other universe, Shaggy would be introducing the Hex Girls as his girlfriends to the Grimwood Ghouls who visited later than the Hex Girls. And in yet another, who knows? Fred might have been the ladies' man."

"Really?" Fred answered in an interested tone, causing Daphne to slap him upside the head.

"Doing some heavy reading into the multiverse theory, Velms?" Daphne asked as she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's 'priorities'.

"Constants and variables, Daphne. Constants and variables…" (2) the genius merely replied, satisfied with her thoughts.

Back to the matter at hand, Thorn had crossed her arms, looking from one Ghoul to the next until finally returning her gaze toward Shaggy.

"So… You were a teacher…" Thorn stated.

"Like, yep…" was his timid reply, not liking where this was going already.

"At an all-girls school…"

"Yep…"

"Meant for monsters…"

"Uh huh…" At this point, the ghouls and Mystery Inc followed the conversation with their heads, as if it were a tennis match.

"And that was a few years ago and they're graduated now…"

"Just graduated, yeah…"

"And you're now their boyfriend…"

Shaggy gulped. "Kinda just happened, yeah…"

A moment of silence then occurred as Thorn gave Shaggy a thorough examination, similar to a critic seriously judging a piece of art. Sibella and Winnie both started to feel bad for Shaggy, practically feeling his anxiety. Phanty's own guilt was apparent when she even stopped fidgeting for once.

"Huh…. One moment." Thorn said in a reserved manner as she gathered Dusk and Luna for a group huddle, whispering amongst themselves. For the first time in a long time, Shaggy was sweating bullets in a moment that didn't involve scary monsters chasing him. Scooby tried supporting his friend by patting him on the back with a paw.

Phantasma was reminded of how she was criticized by her peers at school for "being weird" when she was alive. Or was that a conversation she overheard during the couple of times she explored Coolsville? Something she heard on TV? She couldn't be sure. Either way, Shaggy's 'trial' reminded her of something.

The Hex huddle split, the three young women once again facing Shaggy with indifferent looks on their faces.

"Well, we've thought about it, Shaggy…" Thorn said before pausing, drawing this out more than she needed to. Shaggy's head dropped, expecting the worst. His visual attention diverted, Thorn…. smiled?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Talk about being whipped, am I right, ladies?" Thorn then added, her tone noticeably more friendly. Dusk and Luna snickered as Shaggy's head shot back up, confused. Thorn was cracking jokes?

"Huh? Like… This doesn't upset you?" Shaggy asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Shag, we're the Hex Girls. You really think we'd be that upset about not following society's rules of dating? Besides, you're one of the nicest guys we've ever met. You're the last person we'd expect to go all sexual predator on anybody." Thorn explained, grinning.

"That's what I figured too." Daphne pointed out. Good to know there were others that appreciated Shaggy's good qualities.

Shaggy let out a huge sigh of relief, swiping the sweat off his forehead with a hand.

"We do have one condition, Shaggy…" Luna suddenly mentioned, making the meek beatnik freeze on the spot.

"Like… a condition?" Knowing their mischief well, he was almost too nervous to ask.

"Yep! A condition. A good one too." Dusk piped up, a little excited at the prospect the Girls had agreed to in their huddle.

"Since you seem to be so open to the idea of dating multiple women, you're going to take us out on dates. After all, for us to be sure that things with you will be completely fine, we would like to… test your skills." Thorn explained, giving Shaggy a sly wink at the possible innuendo at the end.

"Like, WHAT?!" he exclaimed, his hair standing on end in shock. Where the hell did that come from?

Phantasma giggled shrilly at this development as Winnie and Sibella's jaws dropped. The last thing the Ghouls expected was the three humans insisting they be included. This changed a lot of things… Eight women. Like it or not, Shaggy now had eight women to please overall. Not to mention the matter of the Ghouls getting to know the band. That might take a little effort and getting used to in itself.

"Holy crap… How does Shaggy do it? The Hex Girls are asking him out too? Just…. how?" Fred pondered aloud what Velma and Daphne were basically thinking. It was strange that a meek-mannered, normal guy like Shaggy (if you don't count his extreme appetite and his talking dog) could earn the affections of this many women at once. Perhaps the universe messing with life by giving Shaggy an overabundance of good luck in love? If so, one had to wonder at who's expense the excess luck came from… Then again, the Hex Girls could just be playing with Shaggy again, this time with something more elaborate due to the coward's strange relationship.

Poor Velma. Never before had she felt so outclassed. If five inhuman ladies weren't competition enough for her to regret not telling Shaggy of her secret feelings sooner, the three enchanting Gothic beauties before them throwing their hats in the ring surely created a metaphorical barrier to the brown-haired nerd. But on the other hand, if this thing could somehow work out… Well, what's one more woman for Shaggy to love and be loved by, right? She would have to keep a close eye on how Shaggy and the women handle themselves and each other. For science, of course…. Who was she kidding? It'd be for her own personal reasons! Let the social experiment commence!

"So, do we have a deal, Shaggy? You show us that you can show a group of women a good time and we won't get upset over what many would think to be a VERY inappropriate relationship. Alright?" Thorn asked as she suddenly approached Shaggy, stopping right in front of him. Shaggy wasn't nervous, due to the disarmingly warm smile. For a Goth, Thorn could sure give off a comforting vibe when she wanted. He figured it might have been some part of her Wiccan ways.

"Uh… Like…" He paused, glancing toward his three ghoulfriends. Phanty gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, thrilled to have some new friends (and potential sister-mates) to play with sometime. Sibella, calm and stoic, simply nodded. A slightly jealous Winnie just shrugged, the werewolf only agreeing because at least the humans seemed like cool chicks to hang with. "Like, sure, Thorn. I'd be honored to."

"Oh, how polite." Thorn playfully commented, smirking. A small part of her wanted to tease him by giving him a peck on the cheek while she was still so close to him. Just to see him get flustered, of course. But perhaps later, if things worked out like she hoped. Maybe there'd be more than just a simple peck.

"Good thing our next concert isn't for a few nights later. It'll give us a chance for us all to get to know each other, don't you think?" Luna commented, giving the werewolf a good look. It was quite unusual to run into a lycanthrope with a blatant 'flaunt it if you got it' attitude toward fashion and her body. Winnie noticed the redhead's stare.

"What, Red? Do I have somethin' in my fur?" Winnie said, a slight growl escaping her mouth as a warning.

"No. Just wondering about your style. You go full-on werewolf on full moons, right? Bigger? More animal-like? So… do you wear so little because you're used to wearing nothing when you're feral?" Luna asked as Winnie subconsciously adjusted her short-shorts.

"Well, you're right about my transformation. Not much fits me during that time. As for my clothes, you're wrong. I just enjoy teasing Shaggy and trying to get him to do something." Winnie answered with a predatory grin. Sibella shook her head at the werewolf's answer.

"Werewolves… Am I correct?" the purple vampire grumbled, much to Thorn's amusement.

"Is there really a feud between werewolves and vampires? I've always wondered." Thorn asked.

"That is merely the result of the human media blowing something out of proportion. Some packs of werewolves do indeed have their grudges against some groups or families of vampires, sure, but it's not entire species against entire species. Well… except for that one time my father almost went too far, but that was around a century ago…" She answered, her face scrunching up in annoyance upon mentioning her disgraced father.

"I see. So, you and Winnie are…?"

Sibella smiled. "Practically sisters. We bicker now and then, but isn't that normal?" she answered, snickering.

"True. Alright, ladies, shall we go meet the rest of Shaggy's 'ghoulfriends'?" Thorn declared to Dusk and Luna, the two of them nodding in agreement.

As the Ghouls led the Hex Girls to the apartment, chatting amicably, Shaggy wiped the sweat off of his face with a forearm. "Like…. That went well…" he commented, feeling better.

"Just one thing, Shaggy…." Daphne said as the group started to follow the women.

"Like, what's that?"

"Got any idea of where to take the Hex Girls on your date?" she asked, grinning. Shaggy gulped.

"ZOINKS! I'm doomed!"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Well… I kinda feel like I just threw together the second half of this chapter… Maybe this one needs more work? I've been going through some real-life things in recent months that have dimmed my creative fire, so to speak. I still want to keep going with this story, don't get me wrong! I appreciate you guys for reading and enjoying my work so far and I hope I can keep up the kind of quality that most of you would expect from a good story. I admit that I've never fully finished a long, multichapter story before… And I might have problems with trying to keep a story going once it gets into the middle of it. (Example: my Beetlejuice/Silent Hill story "Silent Payback"… Still on-hiatus to this day… Feel free to check out what I have of that, if you're interested.) But I keep writing what I can…

So, if you guys have any suggestions or ideas or pointers for the next chapter (Shaggy's sudden group date with the Hex Girls), feel free to help out via reviews! I'd really appreciate any attempt to get on a creative roll here, as I know this story seems to be somewhat popular so far, judging from how many people have followed/favorited this story.

Reference Footnotes: 1) An obscure Simpsons reference, specifically during the famous episode where a movie theater kept playing previews while Homer was getting more and more pissed off. "Soccer Mummy" was one of the joke movies previewed.

2) BioShock Infinite, anyone?

Reader Review Replies:

Inconsistencies – Yeah, I realize the trap, but I just thought I'd at least give a mention to the idea of Shaggy/Velma. Still not sure if she'll be added or not, but hey, why not a brief acknowledgement at least? Lol.

Sgt. M00re and Mr. G – Thanks for the idea which (Shameless plug alert!) inspired my other Scooby-Doo fanfic, "Meet My Student"!

Dark Goddess2000 – Hope the meeting of Girls and Ghouls didn't disappoint, despite my current creative struggles.

Keeper Of Worlds – I'm still hoping to maintain the balance here as I add the Hex Girls into this.

Phoenix Warehouse Productions – Thanks for the good points. Definitely valid.

Grumpydrawer – Glad you liked my fic! I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I'm my own worst critic sometimes. Lol. And yeah, Drac's side-story had to end eventually. Maybe, if I'm inspired enough, I could write something to show what kind of crap Ash puts the beaten Dracula through. XD

You Can Call Me. Ken – Thanks for the praise, dude. As for your request, an epilogue seems like a great idea. Hopefully, I'll actually be able to reach that point! Lol.

Kinggame40 – Yeah…. That minor detail kinda slipped my mind… Whoops! Hmm… As for your "magic-user Shaggy" idea, maybe if Sibella insists on teaching Shaggy magic with "certain rewards" for good effort. XD Talk about 'hot for teacher', am I right? Lol.

All Guests – Thanks a lot!


End file.
